Drake and Dragon Bookshop
by FalconFate
Summary: When Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, they doubled the security. What they didn't know was there was another escapee. One that had found a dark, deep secret locked beneath the earth. What this man never realized is that of you bring one back, you bring them all...
1. Prolgue

**And this is my first crossover, guys. Be nice. **

**Set After: Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets and Merlin: Season Five. **

**So, on with the story!**

It had been years since she had last been to Camelot. That was when the treaty had been struck, and she learned about the deaths of two great men. From that day forth, she refused to even think HIS name. HE, who had been her childhood friend for so many years, and yet so few, was gone, and there was no point in lamenting about it.

Or so she thought.

They were making the journey to Camelot to bring the news of the late Queen's death. The Queen had been Ariana the White, born with pale skin, pale hair and pale eyes. She was the one who had taken her in after her mentor had died.

It was also after she had found Zera, who, then, had just been a youngling wandering the woods, after her parents had died. Now she was Queen, as Ariana had had no relatives or heirs, nor were there any nobles who had quite the experience to rule a kingdom. Andlunn needed a steady hand that would never waver to guide it, but also a hand that could be gentle. Zera had those hands.

And so did she, but she insisted on simply being a guardian. After all, Zera may have been a dragon trapped in human form, but she didn't know. She herself knew what she was, and that it was both much more powerful and much weaker than a dragon. A Drake, a human that could morph into a dragon's body, eventually at will. It took a few years to control, and emotions had much to do with it.

HE had comforted her when she had turned into a small dragon, about the size of a large dog. It was because two of the nastier children had been taunting and teasing her, throwing rocks and broken glass. She had exploded without warning, and then had fled into the forest. HE had found her, her life-long companion that had been by her side since they were old enough to walk. They were both still young, but because of her gift, she seemed and acted much older. HE had helped her morph back into human form, and HE had helped her back to the camp.

It was a week after that Gledden, an older Drake, had come for her. She had had to leave HIM, for the first and last time.

Gledden trained her hard, taught her how to fight, to fly, to run, to wield her magic, to survive, but she still thought of HIM every day for the years she was under Gledden's wing. Then, the soldiers came. They cut down Gledden and would have cut her down too, had Gledden not warned her and told her to fly away. It was painful, leaving behind the old woman, but she had no other choice.

She hadn't even seen the crest the soldiers wore, so she never knew who to take revenge upon. She flew long and hard, finally dropping from exhaustion. She never even felt herself shrink back to a girl.

A patrol found her, Queen Ariana with them, and brought her back to the castle of Andlunn.

She settled there, and found Zera on one of her many evening rides through the kingdom. She was so tiny, the size of a hound pup. Her left wing, blood camoflauged against her scarlet scales, was trapped under a small rock. She had cast a healing spell, and then turned the hatchling into a human little girl, taking her to the castle.

Zera grew well into castle life, eventually joining her every evening for a ride through the forests or fens surrounding the castle. They became the Queen's loyal guardian angels, red and black, fire and shadow, phoenix and raven.

After many, many years, they came to Camelot to strike a treaty with Queen Guinivere. She learned that the late King, Arthur, had died in the battle of Camlann, against an opponent with a sword forged in dragonfire. The spoke HIS name with disgust and hatred, and she felt betrayed, until she finally learned what really happened. _Lyra... _The girl who had bewitched HIM, who had taunted her and teased her, who had made her younger years a living hell.

She no longer felt betrayed, but sick. That that bully would come back to haunt her... it was nearly unthinkable. As unthinkable as HIS name, which she had vowed never to speak again.

And now she was back in Camelot, to deliver the news with Queen Zera. When she saw _him. Emrys_, who had never really treated HIM like an equal. She knew he went by Merlin to the people of Camelot, who now knew his gift, and she realized he had been placed under the same burden. The death of someone close, although he didn't know her pain like she did.

No one did.

They returned to Andlunn, and stayed for many years. It was then that she noticed, that while others' hair grew streaked with gray and silver, her own remained midnight black. Zera was growing old as well, but it didn't show as much as a human.

It was when she finally did that she learned the truth. She didn't age. She still looked twenty-two years, instead of her actual sixty-five. It was only then that she learned the prophecy, from Kilgarrah as he lay dying.

She learned that Merlin was immortal also. It was a joy to her, but also a sadness. Though no one else came close to what she felt, they were not on very polite speaking terms.

And so the years went by. She retreated to the forests, to the high mountains, and watched from afar as the world grew. Eventually, she came down from the frosted peaks and smoothly joined the flow of time once more. She faked death several times, forged birth certificates and identitys, and continuously built the bookshop over and over again, the place that kept her sane.

She was aware of Emrys doing the same, but they only crossed paths when they visited the Lake, or Aithusa. The white dragon had found her once, after ramming into a boulder as a dragon and breaking multiple bones, collapsing her lung, and tearing her wing muscles. He healed her, and stayed by her side as her apprentice and assistant for the hundreds of years to come.

She taught him how to disguise himself as human, and he continously became the shining star in her endless, misrable life. A source of pure, undiluted magic of the Old Religion, which plummeted in use as the Anglish invaders took over Britain, their witches and wizards with their wands and silly incantations taking over the magical community.

Her people, the Druids, were driven out and extinguished. Soon it was only Aithusa, Emrys and herself who remained of the old magic.

They all watched as Camelot fell to ruin, was found by the two men and two women who rebuilt it, and watched as it became a school for magic and charm. She admired Rowenna Ravenclaw, with her intelligence and wit, and Helga Hufflepuff for her unceasing loyalty to her friends. She came to understand the drive of Salazar Slytherin, and his pride and ambitiousness, and she felt proud of Godric Gryffindor for his bravery and fiery loyalty. His chosen colors reminded her painfully of Zera and Kilgarrah, though.

They watched the school grow and evolve, and they watched the whole wizarding world hide from their 'peers'. They feared the non-magical folk, for they thought that they feared magic. And while it may have been true once, they were too terrified to do anything else but hide.

They watched as all that had been worked for was lost, and they watched as peace crumbled to the ground. They watched as both Merlin's and Arthur's names were downtrodden, until it was as if Merlin had simply decided to whisk off to Camelot and 'grace' a Muggle king with his glory. For once, both herself and Merlin agreed about something.

They watched as history passed them by for another thousand years, until the year 1993, when Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban.

No one had even realized that he wasn't the only esapee.

**Alright, that is quite enough of a prologue. Stay tuned for chapter one!**

**Oh, btw, the woman/girl who is kind of narrating the story (even though it is third person), is Ravenna, a Druid girl with the gift of magic and the ability to transform into a dragon. She took Aithusa in when Morgana died and taught him the secrets of the ancient dragons, because he reminds her so much of HIM. Can you guess who HE is? **

**Ravenna just kind of roams the world, not really alongside Merlin, and, because they are both so connected to the Old Religion, they have unimpeded access to the Lake of Avalon. Aithusa as well, but he doesn't really care. He just likes taking care of the bookshop. **

**And again, stay tuned!**

**Falcon**


	2. Chapter One

**Right, okay, sorry for cliffhanger, blah blah blah, I don't own anything, or I would be a very rich teenager. So there. **

**And it starts with one**

**Thing, I don't know why,**

**It doesn't even matter how hard you try,**

**Keep that in mind,**

**I designed this ryhme,**

**To explain in due time,**

**All I know**

_**Linkin**** Park**_

She had decided to move the Drake and Dragon bookshop to Diagon Alley a few years ago for several reasons, though the most prominent was to figure out how to get the 'guard' dragons (who were actually _slaves,_ and she shuddered to even think what would happen if they didn't rescue them) out from under that horrible bank, and it wasn't going as well as she hoped. She knew the layout of Gringotts just as well as a goblin, and she knew there were about sixty dragons being kept underneath the streets, but it didn't help any.

Aithusa was worried about the dragons underneath them, and continuosly talked to them mentally—not that they ever replied. Over the thousands of years, the dragons had evolved, but their tongues had shrunken into snake-like ribbons, forked at the ends, and they lost the use of speech.

Ravenna was currently working at some carrots, cutting them into slices, and then tossing them neatly into the cauldron she used for cooking. She had joined the bookshop with the Leaky Cauldron, knowing that restaurants didn't like competition, and, seeing as she usually had a small café right alongside the bookshop, she realized it would probably be best if she was hired for the Cauldron.

One of her favorite pastimes was cooking. It reminded her of the years she had spent being taught under Glidden, the last Drake besides herself who had lived in Albion. There were still Drakes in the world, but they were hidden, even more so than werewolves.

Currently, she knew, Aithusa was working in the bookshop, and she was glad she had taught him how to multitask. In their early years together, she had often caught him staring out the window, a couple books in hand, frowning thoughtfully. She had then tutored him how to keep ordering the books as he lost himself within his mind. At the moment, he was probably trying to communicate with that Ironbelly Down Below (as they called it) while he was dusting bookshelves.

She had, by now, chopped all of the carrots, and moved on to potatoes. Why she cut them by hand was a mystery to other wizards, but it calmed her nerves when she got edgy. Using her magic for something as trivial as _cutting vegetables_ was unheard of in the Druidic practices. They could do it, but they prefered not to. It was like Muggles driving to their next-door neighbor's house to get some eggs: it would only take half a minute to walk anyways.

Besides, she was so practiced at this that she could cut a large carrot and three potatoes in less than a minute. If she wanted to.

Tom, the bartender of the Leaky Cauldron, had been grateful a thousand times over, for both her cooking skills and her swiftness for everything. He was also grateful to Aithusa—who went by Aiden in the rest pf the world—for catching him when he had fallen down the stairs. That was probably the main reason he had hired her and let them tend the bookshop so close to the entrance.

It was the middle of the summer, so the Hogwarts students wouldn't come for shopping for a few weeks. Aithusa especially had been curious about them, especially their shopping lists. Though he was a bit upset at first about the first years' potions equipment.

Fifteen minutes later the stew was finished, and she left it to warm in the fire for customers. There were only a few people at the myriad of tables, who were simply there to relax and finish their drinks. A moment later, however, one of the sitters stood up; he was a pudgy man in a pinstriped suit and a bowler hat, and she suddenly realized it was the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

She scowled inwardly. She held no love for the Minister, for she felt he was even more biased about his desicions than Uther Pendragon had been. But she plastered her neutral expression on her face—not that she had any expression but neutral most of the time. She had really quite forgotten how smile, and she knew that most people didn't want to see a frown. Only Aithusa and, on occasion, Merlin, had ever seen her show much emotion. And, of course, HIM.

Inwardly, she cursed herself a hundred times over. She hadn't thought of HIM in centuries, so why was she thinking of HIM now? She shook herself and went to check on Aithusa.

He was in the back, sorting through a pile of books on one of the sidetables. There was another pile, neatly stacked beside a chair that held a snoring witch, and she knew he had easily deduced which pile was unread, and which pile had been read. He was regrouping the latter now, putting them in alphabetical order. He had an expression of vacantness, but at least he knew where to put the books. He looked as if he hadn't stopped since she went to the Leaky Cauldron that morning: his pale blond hair was disshevelled and dusted, and his pale blue eyes were clouded with tiredness. She sighed and put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

He blinked and turned to her. "You should get some rest," she said, not unkindly. "You can still talk to them from your room." He nodded, smiling tiredly. "After all," she joked. "I don't want Emrys to think I'm mistreating you." He smiled again, wider and more genuine than before.

As he vanished behind a large bookshelf that was actually a cleverly hidden door, she gathered up the books, noticing they were all on Arthurian history. And all written by Gaius. She frowned and looked at the witch snoring in the chair. She had short, curly blonde hair, and had a thin figure, but didn't look like anyone she knew. And she knew it wasn't Merlin, because she knew he hated having blonde hair. She guessed it was because of the incident with Gwen at the cauldron of the triple goddess, when he had been forced to disguise himself as the Dolma—which was particularly strange for her because she had a taste for dolmas.

Perhaps she should talk to Tom about adding them to the menu sometime.

After putting the books away, she herself went to take a break. Hooking her index finger into a thin crack in the wood of the shelf, she pulled the wooden latch disguised as a knot in the wood. Slipping behind the door, she closed it carefully, and then slid the bolt across. She then slipped up the staircase behind her, taking extra care on the landing because she knew that the dragon was asleep in the room next to her on her right.

Carefully, she opened the narrow door on her left, making sure it didn't squeak. Closing it behind her, she let out a sigh of relief. She made her way to the dresser, stopping in front of the mirror when she saw her reflection. Her long black hair was dissheveled, even in the braid, and her gray eyes were foggy. The scar that ran over her left eye seemed to be more prominent now, more so than the last fifteen hundred years, ever since Arthur died. It was red, and seemed to itch a little. She paled as she realized what it must mean.

Looking out the window, her eyes gleamed gold as the scene changed from the streets of Diagon Alley to the woods surrounding the Lake. In the distance, she could see Avalon itself, and it wasn't calm as it should have been. She ran to the window, jumped, landed on her feet, and continued running. Her black wizard's robe was now a tunic, leggings and a dark green cloak.

In a few minutes, she had reached the shore. The waters were whipped into a violent frenzy, coming so close to the trees that some were wet with spray. She stopped abruptly, holding on to a young fir for balance. She closed her eyes and reached for her magic, nearly reeling from feedback. Everything was filled with energy; even the air felt charged, like she was breathing lightning bolts instead of oxygen. Opening her eyes, she searched the opposite shores—even her eyesight had strengthened to ten times that of a hawk's—and quickly found the figure running from north end to south end, shouting at the top of his voice. Merlin. Wonderful.

She rolled her eyes. Well, at least now she had a chance to stretch her wings. With a thought, she transformed into the form she loved. A long, spiked neck, a longer, spikier tail, huge wings, four long, sturdy legs, and a narrow snout. All covered in jet-black scales.

Snorting silver flames, she leaned back and launched into the air, gaining hight and speed quickly. She reached the opposite shore in fifteen seconds.

On landing, she reluctantly morphed back into human form, scales melting back into clothes. She could make out what he was saying now, and it wasn't magical curses. Something about the Old Religion acting up for no reason, not to mention no warning, and something about the fact that Kilgarrah was no longer there to interpret, nooo, he had to die for some greater good. Hearing this, anger, hot, dubious fury, built up in her chest. He wasn't even there when the last Great Dragon had died! Even though it had been his duty as Dragonlord!

Before she knew it, her eyes had blazed with hot fire, and Merlin found himself slammed up against a huge pine with an angry, female Drake up against his throat.

**Hmm. Wonder what she'll do?**

**Also, I feel like I should explain a couple things. First off being Aithusa. Yes, he is now a human, but he can turn back into a dragon, with concentration. This will be important later on. And he can talk, he just prefers not to. **

**Also, Fudge was getting up to welcome Harry, so if you're confused about that, it's in the third book. So there. **

**And I feel I should say this: Ravenna and Aithusa will be getting an invite to Hogwarts, to add extra protection. Dumbledore has heard of her skills in magic, and he has met bother her and Merlin on a few occasions (though he doesn't know it) and knows that they have a prowess in magic. To this day, he doesn't know why. **

**Stay tuned!**

**Falcon**


	3. Chapter Two

_**There's nothing left to say now,**_

**There's**_** nothing left to say now,**_

_**I'm givin' up, givin' up,**_

_**Hey hey,**_

_**I'm givin' up now,**_

_**I'm givin' up, givin' up,**_

_**Hey hey,**_

_**I'm givin' up now,**_

**Imagine Dragons**

Merlin was frustrated. Why they brushed aside all pleas for Black's innocence was a mystery, and he wanted nothing more than to strangle the Minister of magic.

Well, nothing more but Arthur back.

He decided he'd send word to Ravenna, the only other immortal besides Aithusa, that he would gladly meet her at the Lake. He had seen her once since they moved the bookshop to Diagon Alley, and he knew her hours were slim.

However, when he saw that another Azkaban prisoner had escaped, one that he knew of very well, he lost quite a few of his senses. Sight and hearing were rather prominent among these lost things.

Next thing he knew, he was thrown back against a tree, a forearm against his throat, and gleaming silver eyes blazing with white fire were narrowed into his. "What in Kilgarrah's name was _that_?!" Ravenna shouted. "You weren't even there when he passed, so don't say _anything _about him passing like that!" Her eyes were still bright, but it was no longer because of fire.

She stepped back and shook her head. "What's gotten into you that would make you act like that?" Her face was an angry mask, but her eyes showed grief at the Great Dragon's death.

He blinked and swallowed, trying to get his breath back. "I'm sorry." She snorted and turned away. "I don't even know what I said!" he snapped. She turned on him.

"Really? Because I'm pretty su–"

"Listen! The last thing I remember before you slammed into me was realizing that Regnda had escaped Azkaban!"

She paled, the scar over her left eye showing even redder than before. He cocked his head. "You have looked in the mirror recently, right?"

She scowled. "It's why I came here, _Emrys. _Something is going to happen… something _big. _If you haven't noticed, the Lake's having a bit of a tantrum." He looked past her. Sure enough, there were huge rollers and long whitecaps. He put his face in his hands, running them through his hair.

"Maybe it's because Regnda escaped... or maybe because Sirius Black was innocent... whatever the case, I'll have to keep an eye on Diagon Alley. That's where things happen," said Ravenna. Merlin nodded.

"It's a good idea." he said. She raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you and what have you done with Merlin?"

(linebreak)

Merlin decided to come back to the Alley with Ravenna, not only to keep an eye on her, but also to check on Aithusa. They reached the place where her window sat atop a tall pillar, a rope hanging out of it. The Drake practically launched herself up it, but Merlin had a little trouble.

When he finally clambered over the windowsill, he saw Ravenna's eyes glow briefly gold. The view of Lake Avalon disapeared, replaced by the streets of Diagon Alley. He smiled. He knew that she knew that he knew that she was an expert at doorway magic. If she wanted, she could make a doorway to Arabia, buy a camel, transport to Egypt and give the camel to poor farmers who needed a camel.

Unfortunately, she couldn't take anything larger than Aithusa in his natural form—and even over the fifteen millenia that he had been alive, he hadn't grown much.

"Alright, I am not having you stay here. You can either take a room at the Cauldron or you can sleep on the streets. Your choice."

He blinked, startled. "Um, why?"

She glared.

"Right, right. Got it. Leaky Cauldron. Got it," he said again. "What should I do for a cover name?"

She thought for a moment. "Myrddin. It certainly suits your puzzling personality. And it's similar enough to your name that, heard from afar, if either of us make a mistake, or Regnda manages to bring anybody back, nobody will notice."

He nodded. "Good thinking."

Her expression softened, but she didn't smile. She _never _smiled.

**Hmm. She's turning out to be quite the angstress, isn't she?**

**Thank you EVERYBODY for those LOVELY REVIEWS. Was that subtle enough?**

**Falcon**


	4. Chapter Three

**_Grab your gun,_**

**_Time to go to Hell,_**

**_I'm no hero,_**

**_Guilty as charged,_**

**_So SEARCH, AND, DE-STROY_**

**30 Seconds to Mars**

As Ravenna entered the Leaky Cauldron the next morning, she saw Merlin sitting at a booth in the far corner. She quirked an eyebrow at him, and then ignored him completely and entered the kitchen.

She set to work quickly and efficiently, chopping the vegetables for a breakfast soup, and holding a little flame over hundreds of pieces of bread to make toast. She set them on plates, setting one at each table, nodding to customers if they were sitting down. There was one lad, he almost looked like Merlin, but he was younger and had the most brilliant green eyes. Behind his overly long bangs, she could just see the outline of a very famous scar.

As she set down the platter of toast, she looked him straight in the eye. "Good luck with the paparazzi, Potter," she said softly. He looked startled.

She walked away, knowing who Harry Potter somehow reminded her of. Even though they were completely different, they both had the same calm, I'll-handle-it aura. It was refreshing.

* * *

A few hours later, she finished making and serving lunch and went to have some herself. She brought two plates with her, as the last customer she was serving was, of course, Merlin. She set the plates down at his table and slid in beside him, making sure to keep at least a three-foot distance between them.*

They sat in silence-well, it looked like they did. But in reality, they were having a very strange conversation.

_So? How was your day?_

_Compared to yours? Boring. Do you know what it's like to have to sit here all day waiting for you to finish?_

_I know what it's like to do nothing and just wait. Just like you._

_Point. Doesn't count though._

_Oh, ha ha. Like it doesn't count for you?_

Silence. Then- _What will you do if HE comes back, on HER side?_

She glared at him.

_Well?_

She sighed. _To be honest, I don't actually know what I'd do._

* * *

They waited at the Leaky Cauldron for two weeks before the letter arrived.

Ravenna was scrubbing out the cooking cauldron at the end of her work day, when Merlin made mental contact. _You done yet?_

She rolled her eyes. _What do you think?_

_No?_

_That is correct._

_We have a letter. From that Professor. The one with the really long beard?_

_Dumbledore._

_Right. He wants the three of us - you, me, Aithusa - to help with Hogwarts security because of Sirius Black._

_Well then, what are we waiting on? The grass to grow?_

* * *

Ravenna hired a couple young wizards who were looking for a job to take care of the bookshop, and she managed a deal with Tom. Then, the three of them transported to Hogsmead, deciding before they left that Merlin would settle with Myrddin, and Aithusa would go by Aythen. Ravenna settled just fine with her own name, the only time she had really made an appearance in history was as Queen Ariana's right-hand woman and friend.

They walked up the center lane to Hogwarts, their cloaks billowing around them; Ravenna's was a dark olive green, Aithusa's was snowy white, and Merlin's was a vibrant yet dark shade of blue. It was afternoon here, and warm.

"I just have to ask," Aithusa said. "When do you think we'll be able to help the dragons Down Below?"

Ravenna sighed and put a hand on his shoulder as they entered the gates. "I am sorry, my friend. We will do it as soon as possible. I just don't now when that will be."

Merlin looked at them, bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

Ravenna glared at him. "The dragons under Gringotts."

"There are _dragons... _under _Gringotts_?!"

**Hmm... sorry it's short.**

***I think I should say this: Ravenna really resents Merlin, but she would stay by his side for the good of Albion if she needed to. The reasons for her resentment are revealed in later—much, MUCH later—chapters. **


	5. Chapter Four

_**No warnin' sign,**_

_**No Alibi,**_

_**We're fadin' faster than the speed of light,**_

_**Took a chance,**_

_**Crashed and burned,**_

_**Oh, when will they ever ever learn,**_

**30 Seconds to Mars***

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was just as strange, if not stranger, as the last time they had seen him. When they arrived in his office, he just smiled brightly and hurriedly poured tea out of a kettle sitting on the desk. Aithusa declined the drink, which Ravenna could smell was ginger and mint (Aithusa had an understandable distaste for ginger—even when it was overpowered by other tastes), but Merlin and herself each accepted a cup.

On the first sip, she felt a headache she hadn't even realized was building up dissipate immediately. She wondered if the old headmaster used the refreshing brew for the same purposes she herself did. She felt that, if he was Headmaster, he would have a very good reason to keep a large stock of it at hand.

As Dumbledore started talking, she tuned him out, knowing Merlin—or Myrddin, as he was now—would handle all the talking. She needed time to think, but her mind didn't seem to want to think up escape routes from the bowels of Gringotts—much to her annoyance. It kept drifting to a face, a face that, though she had never forgotten, she refused to name.

Closing her eyes with an inaudible sigh, she eventually lost herself in a short, bittersweet memory.

* * *

_It was almost winter. _

_The air was frigid, the trees were bare, and the forest life was making last-second autumn preperations. The seven-year-old girl huddled into her wolf-skin-lined cloak, wishing that her friend would hurry up, before whoever was coming to take her took her. _

_After several minutes, she heard the soft crunch of hide boots on snow. A boy, hardly older than herself, appeared around a tree, breaking into a run when he saw her. She stood just in time to be crushed in a surprisingly strong embrace. _

_She wrapped her small arms around him and hugged him tight, burying her face in the wolf-fur hood of his jacket. There were no words to be said. _

_It was several minutes before the girl sensed it was time for her to go. She could feel something watching, not unfriendly. But unfamiliar. _

_She pulled back, and saw that the boy's brilliant pale blue eyes were shining even brighter today. She knew her own silvery gray eyes were filling, and hurriedly stuck her gloved hand into the pocket of her cloak. _

_She pulled it back out, holding a leather cord with a small charm attached to it. A wooden dragon, the size of a fingertip, delicately carved so it almost seemed real. Tears spilled down both of their cheeks as the boy took it, closing his fist around it and holding it to his heart. A pledge. _

_A pledge that he _would _see her again. No matter the costs. _

_The girl held back a sob that was threatening to escape her throat, then started to turn away. Before she could, the boy grabbed her arm. _

_He pulled her close, and kissed her cheek, delicately. His gift to her. _

* * *

"Ravenna?"

She snapped her head around. "Hmm?"

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling. "I was saying, would you rather stay in the castle or in Hogsmead?"

She exchanged a quick look with Aithusa, and mentally asked both him and Merlin what they preffered. The dragon responded the castle, because of the easier access to the woods whenever he needed to stretch his wings, and Bird–Boy—sorry, Merlin—said that he didn't really care.

For her own opinion, she was torn between the two: Hogsmead because she could listen to the people not in the school, and Hogwarts because of easier access to the woods. Eventually she decided that it was not worth having cramped wing muscles, even if they got turning-point information.

"We'll stay in the castle," she eventually responded.

* * *

The one thing that puzzled Aithusa about castles was their need for statues and suits of armor. It was plain creepy, and it gave him painful memories of his time as Morgana's pet. The deeds he had done then... all under the guise of being for _the greater good. _Ever since Ravenna had taken him in, the Drake had been a sort of mother figure—one that Morgana had never been able to provide. She had taught him everything she knew about dragons, Drakes, magic and strategy.

It really was no wonder that she beat every opponent she came across at anything, be it a game or a fight. She was a natural-born strategist.

So, he had decided to go down to the woods to stretch his wings and practice some of the battle moves she had taught him.

It took twenty minutes to get down to the entrance hall, and another fifteen to reach the Forest. He was glad that students weren't allowed in the forest, or that would have been really inconvenient.

He walked under the darkness of the trees for a while, before he decided he was far enough from the edge that, if someone were to look out the window, all they would see was an indistinct white shape flitting through the shadows. He stopped and closed his eyes, concentrating, and then felt his body shift into it's natural form.

He opened his eyes. He was on all fours now, his eyesight was sharper, his hearing was enlarged, and his sense of smell had returned. He snorted and showed a dragonish grin, leaping forwards into a bounding sprint. He tipped his wings forward slightly and felt his speed increase, knowing that the tailwinds he made swirled under his wings as if they were sails, pushing him forward faster.

After nearly an hour of running nonstop, swerving around trees and leaping over boulders and fallen logs, he came to a stop at the edge of a large clearing. There was a large stone in the middle of it, a little taller than Aithusa himself was, and about as wide as the length of his tail.

He circled it, sniffed it, scratched it, and generally took a good, long look at it. It didn't seem different from any other old rock, but at the same time, he could sense a special sort of... energy around it, like an old, faded spell.

He shook his head and filed the wierd rock away for later. He'd make sure to tell Ravenna about it.

* * *

**Ok, my thing suddenly turned gray. Wierd. **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this, and I'm sorry it's short. **

**But does the flashback help any? I think it's sweet, if a little sad. **

**Anyways, thanks to those who reviewed, you're awesome. Could you possibly tell me how to make this not gray again? PLEASE? **

**I'm getting freaked out. **

**Falcon**


	6. Chapter Five

**Hooray! No more gray! **

**Ahem. Right. On with the opening song. **

* * *

**_One night of the hunter,_**

**_One day, I will get revenge,_**

**_One, night to remember_**

**_One day, it'll all just end_**

**30 Seconds to Mars**

The man was desperate.

He had only escaped that hellhole because of the scroll, but it was hardly helping him now, was it? He had no food or warmth of any kind, just a puddle of filthy water and the rags of his 'uniform'.

Ironic, really, that he, the richest and second-most powerful wizard of his age, was scrounging the dirty streets of a poorer-than-poor village. He had to find Wormtail, but he was nowhere to be found.

Until he managed to find a week-old Daily Prophet. And there, on the front picture, was Wormy. The cowardly rat was probably having the time of his life while his Lordship's most powerful and wealthy ally was living on garbage. It was despicable.

But also expectable.

He was just glad that this was HER year now. Why it took a year to cycle through each aspect of the scroll, he had no idea, but now he was glad to have the long period of time. That bleeding Muggle king was always either yelling at him or completely ignoring him, that blasted dragon was always setting the scroll itself on fire (which caused the other aspects of the scroll to scream, curse and/or yell hilariously), the idiot queen was always lecturing him, the knights were all yelling at him when their year came around, that lake woman seemed to be quite mute, the old Drake woman would create carefully aimed tiny fireballs that had burned his beard off multiple times, and the one who had been recorded down as the most evil, dark and bloodthirsty knight in history just ignored him completely. The only one who actually talked to him and seemed to agree with him was that witch, Morgana. Unfortunately, she only surfaced once every twelve years, and, despite her immense power even as a scroll, she couldn't make herself dominant every year.

It was quite annoying.

But, now that it was her year, she had zapped him out of Azkaban and into someplace called Ealdor. She said it was the birthplace of Merlin himself, though, looking at it, you would have thought it'd be the birthplace of a rat. Nothing more, everything less.

And he, as Voldemort's richest ally, was not pleased.

He knew that he'd need more than one person to complete the spell he needed to do, and, as both himself and Lady Morgana agreed, why not do it at the same time they revived Voldemort?

The only problem was that Morgana's year would be up by then.

And in her place, that blasted king would be alternately yelling at him and ignoring him. At least, he thought, settling in a dark corner for the night, his problems really couldn't get worse if he waited.

* * *

**Dun dun dun! And we have our villian! Regdna! Will he last the whole year until Wormy escapes? Stay tuned to find out!**

***grabs keyboard from overdramatic and immature cousin* Okay, sorry about that! My cousin, even though he's technically older, acts like a six year old sometimes, and I have to be the responsible one! Grrghh...**

**But he's alright if you get used to his antics. At least he doesn't hate me...**

**BTW, I have a guest review that I need to reply to.**

**CATHERINE: Yes, I can see your review. I just needed to moderate it. And I'm glad you understand my writing now. And I get your point about OCs. However, in my eyes, Ravenna is a turning point in the story, and she's very important in the end. Come the TriWizard, third task, it's gonna get a bit... hairy. I haven't decided yet whether or not I'm going to kill her off. She is immortal, after all. I've been re-imagining the seventh book, and I have seen a dagger involved, but I haven't gotten past that yet. And not just any old dagger, a jewel-encrusted poisoned dagger. Thrown.**

**My imagination is crazy. **

**And though I have not read Lemony Snicket, I have the movie. Though I do need to read the book, don't I? **

**Anyways, pleasepleasepleasepleasePLEASE review and tell me what you think! **


	7. Chapter Six

_**What I really meant to say,**_

_**Is I'm sorry for the way,**_

_**I am,**_

_**Never meant to be so cold,**_

_**Never meant to be so cold,**_

**Crossfade**

* * *

Merlin, to put it lightly, was fuming.

No one, NO ONE, had ever told him that there were _dragons _under _Gringotts. _It was bloody unfair to the dragons, and it was bloody unfair that NO ONE HAD TOLD HIM. Suddenly, he knew why Ravenna and Aithusa had moved the bookshop to Diagon Alley. He wished he had realized sooner.

He sighed. No, he thought, he didn't wish he'd realized, because he wouldn't have. He wished that Ravenna would at least be able to ask for help. Or even take a hand offered to her.

But that was nearly impossible, seeing as the only people she trusted were Aithusa and herself—Merlin knew she wasn't entirely sure she could trust him. And, though he hated to admit it, he wasn't really sure that he could trust himself.

It was even more infuriating than the fact that there were **_DRAGONS_** under _**GRINGOTTS!**_

* * *

Ravenna was starting to hate and love Hogwarts all at once. Loving it, because there were so many secrets to keep her occupied, not to mention the hugeness of it all, and hating it because she felt that Dumbledore was planning to spoil them rotten. She was perfectly fine with straw or even a wooden plank for a mattress, but here it was even more plush than- than- well, it was far more plush than in her original time, at any rate.

She had a suite of rooms near the Astronomy Tower, on the same floor as the entrance, even, and it suited her (no pun intended) quite nicely. The walls were a dark, deep emerald green, and the ceiling was a thing of wonder. Around the edges, there were smudges of green, but in the center, it was a dark midnight blue sky scattered with silver, glowing stars. The carpet was the color of moss, and the curtains and edging were a warm dark brown. For the first time since she had heard that King Arthur had died, she was homesick.

She missed the forests and rivers and trees of her first home, she missed the ever-changing sky, she missed even the ground on those many Druid campsites. And she missed the one friend she had had then, missed him more than ever before.

She fingered the one piece of jewelry that she had ever worn. A leather band, thin and flexible, with a small, delicately hand-carved wooden charm. A wolf, in full howl. She sighed with longing, remembering the time she had recieved it.

* * *

_It was midsummer. A beautiful, wonderful midsummer. _

_The trees were green, the rivers and skys were blue, and flowers of so many different shapes, sizes, colors and scents were in full, glorious bloom. Racing through the trees, laughing with full force, were two children, barely older than a half-decade. A boy with a destiny, and a girl with a gift. _

_At the here and now, though, they had put any and all worries aside and behind. The boy was just an inch out of reach from the girl, and the girl simply danced away when he came too close. _

_Near the river, the boy shouted in triumph as he reached out again, knowing he would get her this time—_

_But, once again, she evaded him, ducking under his outstretched hand and sprinting to the left. The momentum of his reach made him stumble and lose his balance, tipping him forward into a pile of thick green moss. His breath gave out in an almighty _hwoof! _and he scrambled back to his feet. The girl, who had stopped about four meters away, called out. _

_"You alright?"_

_He straightened up, then flashed a grateful smile to her. "Yes. I'll be alright."_

_She walked over. "Are you sure?"_

_He shrugged. "I landed on moss so thick, it had to be magic," he joked. She chuckled, grinning. Suddenly, in the distance, there was a howl, followed by another, and another, until there were six voices raised in song. The girl cocked her head, listening. _

_"It's dinnertime," she said. He looked at her. _

_"How is it you always know what they're saying?"_

_She smiled. "Well, wolves don't really howl for any other reason, do they? After all, it'd be a bit stupid to howl just to say 'Let's go this way!' or 'Attack this thingy!' wouldn't it?"_

_The boy laughed so hard, he fell over again. His cheer was contagious, and soon they were both on the ground, laughing themselves hoarse. Just when they had quieted, another howl rose up, different from the others. A lone howl, a mourning song. The boy listened to it, contemplating something. _

_Then, he reached into a pocket of his cloak. Pulling it back out, the girl saw that it was a pendant. He gave it to her with a shy smile. The both sat up, and, with a smile tugging at her lips, the girl tied it behind her neck, letting the wooden wolf hang over her cloak fastening. That accomplished, she leaned over and hugged the boy fiercly. _

_They sat like that for a minute, before the boy tapped her shoulder. "Got you," he whispered. _

* * *

When she had finished reliving the memory, she felt her eyes stinging. She knew that they were full of regret, sadness and loss. She knew because she felt it every day, though she tried hard to not acknowledge it.

Taking in a deep, shaky breath, she walked over to the fireplace. Unlike most of the rooms, which had their hearths and fires in the corner or along the wall, there was a sort of pavilion in the main room, with a shallow pit within which the fire was kept.

She sat down, wrapping herself in her dark colored cloak, and settled herself, staring into the flames. She sat like this for several hours, reliving her short, joy-filled eight years as a Druid girl by the name of Raven.

* * *

**I've been doing really really really short chappies lately, for some reason. So, here's another look into Ravenna's previous life! I have a feeling that, if you reviewed, most if not all of you would be yelling at me that it's a certain 'Dark Knight' whom she spent her younger years with. **

**But, of course, you'll just have to wait and see. **

**Falcon**


	8. Chapter Seven

_**Hey! that sounds like my luck,**_

_**I get the short end of it,**_

_**Oh I love to be, I love to be the underdog,**_

_**Hey! that sounds like my luck,**_

_**I get the short end of it,**_

_**Oh I love to be, I love to be the underdog**_

**Imagine Dragons**

* * *

Harry absolutely loved his luck.

First, his parents were killed by a psychopath madman when he was an infant, then he met said psychopath again ten years later as he emerged from the back of his DADA teacher's head, and THEN he met the reincarnating memory of the teenage version of the psycho. Now, even though Lord Voldemort was't directly involved with this, he had probably just had the worst experience of his life so far; a dementor.

And, of course, he had been the only one to pass out from the event.

Thankfully, that new professor, R. J. Lupin or whatever, knew his stuff. The chocolate really helped, and, seeing the Hogsmead station just ahead, his spirits were gradually rising at the thought of seeing his friends from the years before again.

The train stopped, and Harry made sure his wand was in his pocket. A moment later they stepped down from the scarlet steam engine, making their way to the carriages. Harry grinned at the sound of "Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" from a large figure at the end of the platform. When they reached the carriages, it was to notice a slight figure standing next to them. Many of the students stared at the unfamiliar witch or wizard, who stood still as a statue. As harry, Ron and Hermione drew closer, they could see it was a witch, but with her hood up, they couldn't see her features.

However, when Harry was within five feet of her, he suddenly exclaimed, "I know you!"

The witch's gaze snapped to him without moving her head. Silver-gray eyes lit up with recognition. "Evening, Potter. All well on the train ride? You especially should take care around dementors."

"What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled, but the push of the crowd carried him forward.

He found the carriage that just happened to hold his friends. Ron immediately asked "Who the bloody hell was that?"

"Ron!"

The redhead turned to Hermione. "I'm just asking!"

Harry laughed at their antics before saying, "Someone I met at the Leaky Cauldron before you got there. I think she was a waitress, but I also saw her at that bookshop just beyond the entrance to Diagon Alley. Drake and Dragon Bookshop, I think."

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "I went in there once or twice, I think. That was probably Ravenna, the woman who owns the shop with her nephew. Before you ask, no, I didn't get his name." The last part was directed at Ron, who had opened his mouth to speak. He closed it.

They arrived at magnificent wrought-iron gates topped with winged boars, and, looking up, Harry saw two more tall, hooded dementors, flanking the gates, standing guard. A wave of the cold sickness enveloped him again, and he leaned back into his lumpy seat until they had passed. The carriage picked up speed on the long, sloping drive up to the castle; Hermione was leaning out of the tiny window, watching the many turrets and towers draw nearer. At last, the carriage swayed to a halt, and Hermione and Ron got out.

As Harry stepped down, a drawling, delighted voice sounded in his ear.

"You _fainted _Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually _fainted?_"

Malfoy elbowed past Hermione to block Harry's way up the stone steps to the castle, his face gleeful and his pale eyes glinting maliciously.

"Shove off, Malfoy," said Ron, whose jaw was clenched.

"Did you faint as well, Weasley?" said Malfoy loudly. "Did the scary old dementor frighten you too, Weasley?"

"Is there a problem?" said a mild voice. Professor Lupin had just gotten out of the next carriage.

Malfoy gave Professor Lupin an insolent stare, which took in the patches on his robes and the dilapidated suitcase. With a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice, he said "Oh, no—er—_Professor,_" then he smirked at Crabbe and Goyle and let them up the steps into the castle.

* * *

Ravenna sighed in relief as the thestrals trundled the carriages back down to wherever they were kept. Though she didn't mind seeing who the students were, it got tiring after the first hundred.

She quickly strode up the path to the castle, scowling at the dementors guarding the gates. Striding past them, she reached the steps to the entrance to the castle in a matter of a few minutes. The last few students were disappearing into the school, and she slipped behind the doors before they closed. Stepping along the edge of the wall to a hidden side door of the Great Hall, she ducked through and reappeared behind the staff table. There were three extra seats on one side, two of which were taken by Aithusa and Bird-Brain—sorry, _Merlin._ She took the seat that was apparently left for her, and watched as the first years were Sorted.

At the end of the Sorting, the doors to the Great Hall opened, admitting Harry Potter, who quickly hurried to the Gryffindor table. She watched him carefully. He was talking to his friend, that redheaded Weasley, Ronald. They stopped as Dumbledore quipped his queues for 'dig in'. The feast suddenly appeared, and Ravenna made a mental note to ask the house-elves how they did it.

She raised an eyebrow as Aithusa filled his plate with about fifty different types of meat: rabbit, quail, even something that looked suspiciously like gnome. She prodded him to at least take some of the fruit, to look like he _wasn't _a carnivore (even though he technically was), and, of course, he took the dragonfruit. She suppressed the urge to smack him.

Merlin, of course, took only a little meat, but it was mostly vegetables and fruit. Quite an amount of it, too. She rolled her eyes and took only a few pieces of fish, and multiple fruits and berries, but only half-filling her plate. She had never had a large appetite, anyways.

After the meal, the Headmaster made his announcements. "This year, you will notice that we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin." The man, who Ravenna realized was a werewolf (the smell was so strong it nearly knocked her out of her chair), waved, and a few of the students, Harry, Ron and Hermione, who had returned in the middle of the feast, included, applauded enthusiastically. After they had quieted, Dumbledore continued. "As you may have noticed, we have a few additions to security. As you have seen on the train, there are the dementors," - he explained about them for a moment - "and, I also ask you to welcome three new guests to the school; Myrrdin W. Arloch, Aythen Drach, and Ravenna Drach. They have agreed to help with school security until Sirius Black has been captured." _Or until he's been proven innocent, _she thought.

After, the students went to bed, and the staff exited for their own rooms. As Ravenna climbed the stairs to her own room, she reflected on tonight's events. Perhaps it wouldn't be quite as boring a year as she had originally thought.

* * *

**Da dada! Please review! I am on my KNEES for feedback PLEASE!**

**To Chatherineismylion (guest)**

**Okay, first, I highly suggest that you get an account. I know someone on here who has an account but no stories, so you wouldn't be the only one. Nor would he, I'll bet. **

**Second, if you ask no question, I'll tell no lies. You'll just have to wait and see. Chapter thirteen, labled chapter twelve, will have all the revealing descriptions. **

**Ta!**

**Falcon**


	9. Chapter Eight

**_Please, please, forgive me,_**

**_But I won't be home again,_**

**_Maybe someday, you'll look up,_**

**_And barely conscious you'll say to no one,_**

**_Is't something missing?_**

**Evanescence **

* * *

The dog decided that Muggles were even worse than his parents.

Well, the man who was in the form of a dog, anyway.

He had watched the huge, balooned woman floating away for a moment, before hurrying towards the place he just knew he would see the one he had come to see. He had a bad feeling that the over-overweight woman was an accidental magic experience.

He hoped that whoever had caused it to happen wasn't in too much trouble.

Then he laughed at himself. _Look who's talking. _That's probably what Moony and Prongs would have said.

He stopped. There, on the opposite side of the street, was him. The boy he had been looking for. Harry Potter.

He stayed in the bushes, hidden by shadows and leaves. But he couldn't see him clearly. Making a desicion, he stepped out. The boy saw him.

From the way he reacted, you might've thought that the dog was the Grimm himself.

The boy thrust his wand out, probably about to shout a spell of sorts, but, thankfully, that called the Knight Bus. As the purple triple-decker screeched to a halt, the dog backed into the shadows again.

He had things to do.

* * *

Several months later, the dog was watching a Quidditch match.

He saw the Gryffindor seeker streaking upward, saw him nearly catch the Snitch...

But, the dementors meant to be looking for him swarmed on the boy, making him fall. At least he was caught by Dumbledore. The broom, well...

Not so lucky.

Smiling a grim smile, the dog realized he knew exactly what to do with his parent's money. He just had to contact the cat.

* * *

Pacing. Pacing. Sitting down. Pacing again.

Those over-paranoid, lie-believing thugs thought that he'd jinxed the broom. They hadn't even let Harry ride it! For goodness' sake, it was a Firebolt! Why would someone go to all that trouble to buy such a broom, and then _jinx it?! _It was bloody unfair, for both the boy and the gifter!

He paced around the cave, growling this time. Checking brooms for jinxes took weeks. How long till the next game? he wondered.

Not long enough, he replied to himself.

* * *

The school year was passing relatively quickly for Ravenna and her companions. The only upcry was when Harry fell off his broom at the Quidditch match, but she didn't really care. What she cared about was getting Black's name on the innocent's list. During the game, she had seen a large black dog in the stadium, watching Harry intently.

Not very dog-like behaviour. If anyone made the connection between the dog star Sirius and this very human acting dog, then all hell would break loose.

When the Firebolt arrived, and with it, a definite lack of spells, she was enraged to see that they took it for 'anti-jinxing'.

She offered her help, knowing that the process would be over a lot quicker if she did. At the same time, she taught the two teachers, McGonagle and Flitwick, a special trick to check for any sign of tamperement.

The broom was given back to it's owner within the week.

Her gaze lightened whenever it happened to land upon a large, shaggy black dog, and, during one of her trips to Hogsmead, she reached down to pet him, muttering as she did so, "I think he likes your gift."

The dog blinked at her. To anyone else, it'd have been a canine sign of affection, but she knew shock when she saw it. She quirked an eyebrow at the dog. "Not all people think you're a madman," she said.

She walked on, but turned to see a shaggy black tail disappearing into the crowd, wagging fiercely.

* * *

**And Sirius finally meets his supporter! Well, one of them. He does have three, after all. **

**I think it would be nice, if you were accused of being a psychopath murder even though you're not, that you knew that someone knows the truth. **

**I have big plans for this tale. **

**Also, I should mention...**

**WOW. I just went back to reread a guest review that was too long to just read in my email, and WOW. Finally, someone who understands the need for a bunch of words. **

***looks out window* there are... ducks. Out on a lake so cold, my fridge is embarrased. **

**Why are there ducks on such a cold lake?**

**Ah, well. He says 'Quack! Review! Quack!'. **

**Get the point? **

**Falcon**


	10. Chapter Nine

_**There was a truth,**_

_**There was consequence,**_

_**Against you,**_

_**A weak defense of theirs,**_

**30 Seconds to Mars (they're AWESOME!)**

* * *

Ravenna was starting to worry about Professor Lupin.

She trusted Snape, and knew he was an expert woth the wolfsbane potion, but at the same time, she felt like his thoughts were filled with slipping on one crucial ingredient.

And the very last thing they needed was a rabid werewolf loose in the castle.

She wondered how that shaggy black dog was doing. She knew she'd have to stand in his defense soon, and she made a habit of watching that rat of Ronald Weasley's. It just didn't seem right.

Like how the dog didn't seem like a dog.

* * *

Harry woke to the sound of an owl at the window.

Groaning, he pushed the warm bedcovers off his legs and blearily looked out the window. The owl sitting there was none other than Hedwig, and she looked annoyed, scratching at the glass with her talon.

He opened the window and detached the roll of parchment from her leg. Absentmindedly, he found an owl treat and gave it to her. She took off, sending a draft of chilled air into the room. He closed the window again and went back to sit in his bed, lighting a bedside candle to read the note.

He unrolled it, but it was so splashed with tears over shaky handwriting that it was barely legible:

_Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it. _

_Hagrid. _

He swore violently up and down. Racing to Ron's four-poster, he shook his friend awake.

When he did, Harry handed his friend the note.

When he finished, he muttered a few choice words himself. "C'mon, we should get this to Hermione." said Harry.

Hurriedly, they dressed, and raced down the stairs, stumbling slightly on the landings. When they reached the common room, it was to find Hermione sitting on one of the over-stuffed armchairs. She looked up in surprise as they careened into the room.

"Hedwig — letter — Buckbeak —" Harry panted, holding out the note. She grabbed it and read it over, once, twice, three times.

Her face darkened red slightly, and then she took a deep breath, steadying herself. Then she exploded. "They just can't _do _this!"

Harry and Ron cringed. "Sorry," she apologized. "But... what have they got against Buckbeak, anyway?"

"Not they," corrected Ron. "Malfoy."

Quickly, they ran down to breakfast, before Hermione remembered that they had exams that afternoon.

Rona and Harry groaned with impatience, but Hermione pressed the importance of the exams, and then pointed out that the execution was set for sunset anyways.

They protested a bit, but eventually relented.

* * *

Harry's and Ron's last exam was Divination, Hermione's, Muggle Studies. They walked up the marble staircase together; Hermione left them on the first floor and Harry and Ron proceeded all the way up to the seventh, where many of their class were sitting on the spiral staircase to Professor Trelawny's classroom, trying to cram in a bit of last-minute studying.

"She's seeing us all seperately," Neville informed them as they went to sit down next to him. He had his copy of _Unfogging th Future _open on his lap at the pages devoted to crystal gazing. "Have either of you seen _anything _in a crystal ball?" he asked them unhappily.

"Nope," said Ron in an offhand voice. He kept checking his watch; Harry knew he was counting down the time until Buckbeak's execution started.

The line of people outside the classroom shortened very slowly. As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the rest of the class hissed, "What did she ask? Was it okay?"

But they all refused to say.

"She syas the crystal ball's told her that if I tell you, I'll have a horrible accident!" squeaked Neville as he clambered back down the ladder toward Harry and Ron, who had now reached the landing.

"That's convenient," snorted Ron. "You know, I'm starting to think Hermione was right about her" — he jabbed his thumb toward the trapdoor above them — "she's a right old fraud."

"Yeah," said Harry, looking at his own watch. It was now two o' clock. "Wish she'd hurry up..."

Parvarti came back down the ladder glowing with pride.

"She says I've got the makings of a true Seer, she informed Harry and Ron. "I saw _loads _of stuff. . . . Well, good luck!"

She hurried off down the spiral staircase toward Lavender.

"Ronald Weasley," said the familiar, misty voice from above their heads. Ron grimaced at Harry and climbed the silver ladder out of sight. Harry was now the only person left to be tested. He settled himself on the floor with his back against the wall, listening to a fly buzzing in the sunny window, his mind across the grounds with Hagrid.

* * *

Merlin was worried.

He had gotten wind that the hippogriff's appeal had been lost, and knew that if Buckbeak died, the Old Religion would be upset so much, the very fabric of reality might be torn apart. The hippogriff was important to the oncoming war, he knew.

He added that to his list of things to worry about. It was getting a bit long.

* * *

**That's it folks, see you later. **

**Please review!**

**Falcon**


	11. Chapter Ten

**_We swear on all,_**

**_The Northern Lights,_**

**_And hit behind the end tonight,_**

**_I've waited for the dawn to come,_**

**_To save us all,_**

**_To save us all,_**

**30 Seconds to Mars**

* * *

Ravenna was patroling the grounds with Aithusa, knowing that tonight was the full moon, and she didn't quite trust Snape to not play a revenge game.

After several hours, the moon itself had risen, and she had almost relaxed, but she kept herself wary and on guard.

She knew it was a good thing when she heard the howl.

Exchanging a brief glance with Aithusa, they decided it would be best if they showed as wizards, not dragons. Who knew what trouble that might have caused. Instead, they ran at full sprint towards the source. They came to the Whomping Willow, which, for once, was still. Beside it, there were seven figures, six of whom were backing away from the seventh.

Ravenna felt more than saw Pettigrew's furtive look, and, without warning, lunged, shifting into a dragon in mid-air.

Indeed, it was just in time.

She landed on Peter just as he was shifting into a rat, and she deftly picked it up. The werewolf suddenly looked at her, and snarled. Everyone else turned to see her. Rolling her eyes, she leaped into the air as Lupin lunged for her.

With a mighty beat of her wings, she gained altitude, and then dive-bombed the were. Poor Professor Lupin had no idea what hit him. Having sufficiently knocked him off balance with that, she came back and flicked his head. The werewolf's eyes rolled back into it's head as it slumped to the ground.

Carefully holding the rat that was Peter to her chest, she nudged the Professor with her snout. Satisfied that he was well and truly out of it, she tossed the rat to Sirius Black, who caught it and stared at her, gaping. Rolling her eyes again, she flipped over backwards, automatically creating a shadow-door—a spell that could teleport you anywhere via shade—and re-appeared in her room, back in human form.

Instantly, she had to hold on to the wall for support. Shadow-doors took a _lot _of energy.

But she felt a grim satisfaction at the fact that Sirius Black had been proven innocent.

* * *

It was nearly summer.

The departing feast had been scheduled for that night and Sirius, now proven innocent to the rest of the world, was the honored guest.

The Ministry had taken Pettigrew to Azkaban, but on the way, he had mysteriously escaped. Everyone in the world was now on the lookout for him, but it didn't do much good.

However, the student's parents were worried about a werewolf teaching their children, and Lupin had decided to resign from his post. She frowned at this, knowing that if Drakes had it worse than weres, she was glad she knew how to keep her cool.

After the plates had been cleared, Dumbledore finally stood up. "I believe I have an announcment to make." Every eye in the Hall was suddenly upon him. "I am sure you have all been wondering exactly how and why Sirius Black is here in the school, as an honered guest." Dumbledore nodded to the Animagus in question. "Thirteen years ago, as most of you surely know, the Potters were murdred by Lord Voldemort" — 99% of the people present flinched — "but their son, Harry, survived. We all thought that Sirius betrayed them and killed Peter Pettigrew, but the reality was that it was Peter himself who told the Dark Lord where the Potters were. A few evenings ago, that reality was revealed. Let us all give a hand for the brave students and Professor who helped with that feat!"

There was a round of applause, slightly muted, and completely dead at the Slytherin table. They all, Draco and his goons especially, simply sulked.

* * *

The next day, the students went down to the train, Ravenna, Aithusa and Bird-Brain—sorry, Merlin—supervised.

Though they were really only watching for their own reasons. When the last student had boarded the train, they followed, having arranged this with Dumbledore already. They were going down an aisle, when Harry peeked out of one. Seeing them, his face lit up with curiosity, but he waved them over. Aithusa smiled and held the compartment door for his companions.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting there, along with Sirius. When the animagus spied Ravenna, his eyes lit up, and he gave a knowing and grateful smile. She nodded to him, solemnly. They sat, and Hermione immediately got down to buisness.

"Alright, which one of you was it?"

Aithusa and Merlin stared at her, nonplussed. Ravenna looked out the window, slightly bored. She had noticed a little twittering sound as she had entered, and had pinpointed it from the little ball of feathers on Ron's left shoulder.

Hermione glared. "Well? Which one of you is the Drake that saved our lives and Sirius's freedom?"

Aithusa jumped. Hermione instantly turned on him, but Sirius put a hand on her shoulder. "How exactly do you know it's a Drake? And even if it is, why are you suspecting these three?"

She turned on him. "I recognised it as a Drake by it's crown of spikes, and it could hardly have come from outside the castle, could it? The wards put by Dumbledore and these three" — she gestured to Aithusa, Merlin and Ravenna — "are too strong for that!"

Merlin frowned. "Don't be too sure. A Drake's magic is very powerful. It's one of the reasons that they're persecuted even more than werewolves."

Ravenna scowled. _Thanks for that. _Hermione kept pressing.

"Logic clearly states that it has to be one of you three! Can't you see what I'm saying?"

Ravenna gave her companions a _look. _Not a very nice one, either. "Just get it over with. They'd find out anyways," she pointed out when Aithusa looked at her, startled.

When they said nothing, she sighed, then turned to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Sirius. "Alright. First off, I'd like to congratulate this young woman here for her undeniable talent, skill and logical way of thinking. Second, I'd like to thank all of you for keeping it hushed that it was a Drake that had save your hides—people tend to not like us. And third, I am proud to present to you the only Drake that's not entirely jobless in this world—me."

They stared at her for a minute, until the silence was broken, inevitably, by Ron. "Is that why you're so cheerless all the time?"

The look that the sorceress turned on him could have—would have—made any dementor run for shelter. As it was, Ron nearly wet himself.

"I would not suggest asking about that," the Drake eventually said. The ice in her voice was like a winter midnight in Antarctica times five thousand.

* * *

**Yeah, she's sensitive about HIM. **

**Reviews are WELCOMED with OPEN ARMS and something to drink (a.k.a. the story—you know, drinking in the tale? Ah, nevermind. *mutters under breath* kids) **

**Please review, and I'll have fourth year up by next week, kay?**

**Falcon**


	12. Chapter Eleven

**_I was lookin' for a breath of life,_  
**

**_A little touch of heavenly light,_**

**_But all the choirs in my head sang NOOOO,_**

**Florence + the Machine**

* * *

Harry was fuming, to put it lightly.

Despite the offer his godfather had made to him, he still had to go back to the Dursleys. It was unfair, unneccesary, and horrible.

The fact that Dubledore had said it didn't make anything any better.

Fortunately, Ron had invited him to come to the Quidditch World Cup, and had said that Sirius would be there as well.

Harry would hardly miss it for the world. And he couldn't wait.

Mrs. Weasley's letter had arrived just after Ron's had, and Uncle Vernon had finally decided to let Harry go. A few days later, Mr. Weasley, the Weasley twins and Ron had come to pick him up. They left to the after-effects of a Ton-Tongue Toffee aflicted upon Dudley.

After Fred and George had been properly rebuked, the residents upstairs came down to see what the noise was all about. Hermione rushed to him and hugged him, and Harry met the two eldest of the Weasley children, Bill and Charlie.

Finally, the last person came down the stairs. Harry grinned so wide, it looked like his head had been split open. Sirius came down the stairs three at a time, leaping over the railing near the bottom and landing on his feet.

They embraced, and Harry's day was officially made.

* * *

The day of the Quidditch World Cup finally came, and everyone but Charlie, Bill and Percy got up about five hours before dawn. Even Sirius decided that he would come with the early group.

They left for the Portkey, along the way meeting Amos Diggory and his son, Cedric, who joined them. They reached the Portkey—an old boot—and a moment later arrived at the fields.

They found their tent spot, and they set up two tents—one for boys, one for girls—that smelled strongly of cats. Sirius was sniffing furiously the whole time. "Blasted feline lovers," he muttered more than once.

When Harry, Ron and Hermione went to fetch water, they met quite a few friends from Hogwarts. Three of which were sitting outside their tent, two cracking joke to one another, the other concentrating on a large pot over a golden fire.

Hermione waved. Myrddin and Aythen looked up. They grinned and waved back.

When they reached the pump, Ron muttered to Harry. "To this day, that Ravenna is still so _cold_."

* * *

Aithusa was lying flat on the grass, laughing so hard he was almost snorting puffs of flame. Merlin was chuckling as well.

Ravenna shot them an annoyed look, then went back to her cooking.

She knew that most people thought she was strange, because she never even turned up the corners of her mouth. She had just had too much happen to her for her to smile, even once. She knew Merlin and Aithusa, though they were used to it, were always trying to crack the joke that would crack her.

Unfortunately, her cold mask was like magma: you would think you'd made a breakthrough, and then it would backfire.

This time was no different.

"Ravenna?"

She turned. "Hmm?"

Aithusa had a slight glint in his eye, but so small she doubted anyone else could have seen it. "What team would you be rooting for?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be rooting for either team?"

"What if you were?"

"What's the point?"

"It's a game!"

"Quite. And it gets people riled up. At least in the tournaments, you knew who you stood with. In these, you either stand with the looks, or you stand with the looks."

Merlin snorted.

"Did you just crack a joke?"

She levelled her gaze on him. "What makes you think so?"

* * *

Ireland won, but Bulgaria got the Snitch. The irony was so much that Ravenna nearly—very, very nearly—cracked. It gave her two companions inspiration.

Before they could test their theory, however, the fields were attacked. Racing outside, they saw a wall of Death Eaters, destroying tents and terrorizing wizards. There were screams, explosions and three bodies hanging in the air. A man, woman and child. A Muggle family.

The rage that the Drake felt was like nothing that had been seen before. But before she could act, the Dark Mark appeared in the sky, and all the Death Eaters Disapparated.

She growled lightly, gray eyes flashing silver like they always did when she was angry or upset—or really happy, but that hadn't happened in a longer-than-long time. She sniffed the air slightly, and, smelling nothing, stalked back to the tent.

The next morning, they left for Diagon Alley.

* * *

**Wellp, that's all for today!**

**Please review!**

**I am sorry I made you wait so long, but I wanted to give the sense of summer passing. **

**Falcon**


	13. Chapter Twelve

_**I am the best she claimed and more,**_

_**A battle-scarred conquistador,**_

_**We will, we will, we will ride again,**_

_**This is a fight for our love, lust, hate, desire,**_

_**The children of the great empire,**_

**30 Seconds to Mars**

* * *

The scroll had switched aspects last week.

He now got the priveledge of listening to a Muggle king switching between utter rage and complete silence. He knew which one he liked most. However, the bleeding king seemed to not know night from day, and was constantly shouting at him when he was trying to sleep.

Silencing spells did absolutely nothing. Stupid enchanted scrolls.

Fortunately, as Petty Pettigrew told him, they would revive the Dark Lord in less than a year—and the sorceress as well.

He just hoped that that Crouch boy knew what he was doing.

* * *

To Harry, September first could come quickly, but also slowly. It was a statement about how much he was enjoying staying at the Weasleys'.

However, the first of September came, and it came with a howl. Harry groaned and sat up. Next to his bed, a huge, shaggy black dog was howling like a huge, shaggy black dog would howl. "Sirius," muttered Harry. The dog stopped howling and gave him a very doggish frown.

The boy looked over at Ron's bed, where there were still snores emenating softly from the Weasley's second youngest. He rolled his eyes. "Doesn't anything wake him up?" he said to Sirius—who, he wasn't surprised to see, was now in human form, sitting at the foot of his bed. The ex-escapee grinned.

"Not from what I've seen."

Harry grinned back and got out of bed. "What do you think we should do?"

The animagus tilted his head thoughtfully, like a dog might. Then, a slow smile creeped over his face. "Might want to stand back," he warned quietly.

Harry retreated. Sirius raised his wand. "_Aguamenti!_" he whispered. A spout of water shot from the wand, hitting Ron in the face. He woke up, spluttering.

"What the bloody hell was that!" he shouted. Harry, doubled up with laughter as he was, couldn't reply, and Sirius, being in much the same predicament, just snorted and laughed harder.

* * *

They were on the train.

They had found the compartment where Myrrdin, one of the school guards, was sitting. He waved them in, and Harry, Ron and Hermione sat down. "Where are Ravenna and Aythen?" asked Hermione. Myrddin looked at her.

"We're not really talking to each other. Well, Ravenna and I, anyways."

She frowned. "Why's that?"

He shrugged. "Argument. We aren't exactly friends, you know."

It was Harry's turn to frown. "Wouldn't really guess that from the way you two bicker all the time. It's like these two," he said, jerking thumbs at his companions.

Myrrdin laughed. "Oh, no, we just bicker because she hates me. And before you ask why," he said, suddenly turning serious, "it has a lot to do with the reason she never smiles."

"Was someone close to her killed in the war?" asked Hermione.

Myrddin looked at her, eyebrows raised in surprise. "I had heard that you were bright. I guess you're perceptive as well."

Hermione flushed at the complement. "Just answer the question."

He muttered under his breath. "Brighter than the sun." Out loud, though, he said, "Well, you could say that he was killed in the war, but it wasn't necessarily because of the enemy—though, as Ravenna has pointed out to me hundreds of times, it technically was.

"They were childhood friends, grew up together. However, Ravenna, being a you-know-what, had to go away for training. It broke them both. While she was away, her friend fell under an enchantment placed by an antagonist of Ravenna's younger years.

"Everyone thought that he had found love, and everyone thought that he needed it after his oldest friend had gone. For years, the enchantment was undiscovered.

"The enchanter, a girl called Lyra, joined the enemies' ranks. Ravenna's friend was on our side, but a friend of mine killed Lyra in battle. When that happened, he turned on us, joined the enemy.

"He, too, was killed by my friend, just before he himself landed a killing blow. When Ravenna finally found out a few years later, it was as if any color she had had was gone: she barely ate, rarely slept, and seemed to be simply a husk. She came back to herself, but she didn't have quite the same spark in her eye anymore. She was leaden instead of silver, you might say.

"Her sister and friend, Zera, tried to help her, but she died soon after as well. It wasn't helped by the fact that both of Ravenna's mother figures, a Drake named Gledden and a witch named Ariana, had both died earlier on. Aythen is all she has left, really."

Hermione was frowning. "Exactly how old are you?" she asked. Harry elbowed her, but she ignored him.

Myrddin was looking at her strangly. "Twenty-three. Why?"

"Because those are names and events that occured in the past—in that order. History doesn't say much about Ravenna, only that she was a black-scaled Drake and Ariana the White's right-hand woman. Zera, Ariana's successor, wasn't Ravenna's sister, but apprentice.

"It was also said that Ravenna fell to pieces when she learned of the death of her loved one—and that both her and him were Druids. What was her friend's name?"

Myrddin looked at her. "You read history for fun."

Hermione flushed. "Yes, I do, actually."

He sighed. "Well, you've easily guessed who has a similar storyline, and the same name to boot."

Hermione was frowning now. "What was her friend's name?" she asked again.

He turned to her. "Take a guess," he said bitterly.

* * *

The lunch trolley came by, and after eating a bite, Myrrdin got up to walk the corridors. Hermione immediately launched into conversation. "What do you two think of Ravenna, anyways?"

Harry looked at her. "What do you mean, exactly?"

She rolled her eyes. "I _mean, _do you think Dumbledore knows she's a Drake?"

Ron blinked. "Would he have not let her come if he knew?"

She threw her hands in the air. "Probably! Drakes have even more prejudice against them than pitbulls and werewolves combined! And—" she lowered her voice "—it's not all without reason. If someone with that gift couldn't keep their other side under control, it'd be let loose and would start killing left and right. It didn't use to be so difficult in Merlin's time, but since dragons have evolved, Drakes have also. Once, dragons could talk and think just like you or me, and were like elders to the people who weren't afraid of them. But their tongues split into snake-like forks over time, and they lost their wisdom and speech.

"The attacks by Drakes skyrocketed right along with attacks by dragons. It was brutal. Some say even You-Know-Who didn't dare try to inlist Drakes in the war, because they were far too powerful and unpredictable. Many go mad at a young age trying to control it. Ravenna was probably very lucky to have a mentor like Gledden. And, because of the prejudice, Ravenna is probably so tight-lipped about it, she might not trust Dumbledore. She only trusted us because we've seen substantial proof that she can keep her other side under good control."

Ron looked at her. "You know, I agree with Myrrdin. You read history for fun and games."

* * *

**Da dada, very few names XD. I love subtlety!**

**Though, I'm probably not good at it. **

**Review?**

**Falcon**


	14. Chapter Thirteen

_**I tremble...**_

_**They're gonna eat me alive...**_

_**If I stumble...**_

_**They're gonna eat me alive...**_

_**Can you hear my heart**_

_**Beating like a hammer,**_

_**Beating like a hammer**_

**Metric**

* * *

The feast was like any other at Hogwarts, save for the exciting—or, in Ravenna's case, dread-inspiring—announcement of the Triwizard Tournament, and the two other schools that would be coming to participate. She kept her face neutral as Dumbledore explained the rules and restrictions.

After his little speech, the feast appeared, but in the middle of it, the doors burst open and a heavily misshapen figure clumped in. She recognised the face as Mad-Eye Moody, but the aura radiating from the ex-Auror was poisonous and filled with hatred—especially towards the judge, Barty Crouch.

The Great Hall was silenced. The man, who was doing a surprisingly good imitation of Moody, was clumping up the gap between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, and everyone was turning to get a better look at him—surely this would be the new DADA Professor.

He reached the dais where Dumbledore was waiting, having vacated his seat. They embraced, and Dumbledore muttered a few words. Then, he raised his voice, addressing the Hall at large. "If you would please welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Alastor Moody!"

There was a muted applause. The Auror was rather famous, but not all for good reasons.

Ravenna clapped as well, but she stopped after a moment. She noticed Aithusa and Merlin doing the same, but her focus was on the new teacher. Her eyes were narrowed to silver slits, and she had to keep her Drake in check—or risk tearing apart the whole Hall. Bad enough that her irises changed color when her gift's bindings were loosened, but she had very little control over it.

When the feast was finished, the students left for bed. After pausing a moment, Ravenna followed. Her eyes glinted with satisfaction. Moody would have to be careful where he slipped.

* * *

The day that the other schools arrived came fast upon them.

Merlin and Ravenna had arranged to patrol the grounds, Ravenna near the doors, Bird-Brain near the rear. Aithusa was posted in the woods, in dragon form, just in case something went wrong.

The Beauxbatons carriage arrived first, pulled by a dozen of huge winged palaminos. The Durmstrang ship arrived next, in a dazzling and awe-inspiring display of teleportation magic. Ravenna was impressed.

They went in, and Dumbledore explained the Goblet of Fire. Ravenna's ears perked up when she heard of the Yule Ball, if only to be able to see Merlin humiliate himself, and the thought stayed with her, giving her a little light. She had, of course, attended the balls that Queen Ariana had occasionally thrown, but she was always a bit of an off-limits dancing partner, preffering to simply watch—and hardly ever in a dress. Just a formal version of her work clothes, really: long sleeves, leggings, and a belt with a few 'decorative' throwing knives that were designed to look like feathers. All edged with silver, of course.

She knew formality was neccesary. Just not extravagance.

She observed the two visiting headmasters. Madam Maxime was a large woman, probably a half-giant, and she could see her stealing glances at Hagrid. Karkaroff was almost brutish, but she could see fear lingering in the depths of his eyes. She remembered that he was a Death Eater once, but didn't seem quite cut out for it.

_Strange, _she thought. _That makes two Death Eaters who are now Professors at a magic school. _

* * *

When the Goblet chose Harry, she could feel that nature's balance had suddenly shifted. But it was so slight, she knew only a Drake, someone with a foot in two kinds of magic, would feel it. Even Merlin would think of it as a passing headache.

She followed the Headmasters and judges into the room where the four Champions had been guided. By the time she got there, it was already chaos. Harry's eyes still had that look of fear, like a cornered animal. The other three Champions looked bewildered, although Cedric Diggory looked like he was catching on. The adults were bombarding Harry with questions, and so she took the chance to help him out.

"Stop it! Can't you see that he never wanted this?" she spat. They looked at her.

"And just what do you mean?" asked Crouch.

She glared, barely keeping her irises from flashing silver. "Look in his eyes, and you will see what I mean."

Ludo Bagman was the first to step down. "My apologies, Harry. I suppose there was a reason that there was an age restriction."

"But we cannot call the tournament off." said Barty Crouch. Ravenna's eyes slid closed, knowing what he would say next. "And we cannot pull him out."

* * *

Ever since the Goblet had spit out his name, the other students had been giving him wide berths and dirty looks.

He was glad that Ravenna had stood up for him and tried to get him out of the Tournament, but he had known that any attempt would probably be futile. It was just too damn complicated.

It didn't help that Ron was behaving like the rest of the school, either.

* * *

A few days before the first task, Aithusa came to find her. "Dragons!" he said.

"What do you mean?"

"That's the first task. Distract the dragon, take a golden egg, which has a clue in Mermish, and try not to destroy the other false eggs in the process."

Ravenna groaned. "Where are they?"

"The forest. Shall I show you?"

"Please."

They walked down to the entrance hall. It was nearing dusk, and Ravenna wondered who would be such an idiot to think that facing a dragon would be wise, especially one with eggs. And to steal one, even if they were all fake.

They reached the woods, and Ravenna mentally cast around to see if anyone was watching. No one.

They walked deep into the Forest, but it was several minutes before she heard anything. She broke into a steady jog, Aithusa easily keeping pace with her. A few minutes later, they reached the edge of a clearing.

There were four huge cages, each containing a dragon. The one closest to them had four legs and green scales. Common Welsh Green. Next, a silvery-purple four-limbed dragon, Swedish Shortsnout. Behind it, a crimson-and-black Chinese Fireball. And behind that...

Larger than the others, spikes on every available surface, and torn wings. A Hungarian Horntail.

"And they're all female," whispered Aithusa.

* * *

**I hate short chapters as much as you. Ta!**

**Review?**

**Falcon**


	15. Chapter Fourteen

_**This is ten percent luck,**_

_**Twenty percent skill,**_

_**Fifteen percent concentrated power of will,**_

_**Five percent pleasure,**_

_**Fifty percent pain,**_

_**And a hundred percent reason to remember the name**_

**Fort Minor**

* * *

Ravenna spent the next twenty-four hours parlying with the four dragons. She explained that one of their eggs was an important treasure to the human who would be standing against them. They worked out a plan, that they would be as menacing as possible, but do no real damage without due cause.

The Horntail was a bit upset, but once the importance of this task was explained to her, she relented. Ravenna knew that whoever chose her would have a few bruises.

* * *

The day of the task had arrived. Harry was walking down to the tent where himself and the other Champions would wait to start when he was pulled aside by Myrrdin.

They walked to a gnarled oak, the older wizard giving it a pat before turning to Harry. "I want you to listen carefully," he said. "The dragons won't kill you unless you seriously provoke them."

"What do you mean?" Harry said.

The man smiled grimly. "Ravenna talked to them. They won't be so docile as to just lay down and let you take the egg, but they won't make it impossible."

Harry blinked. "Wow, um... could you tell Ravenna thanks?"

Myrddin smiled again, genuine this time. "My pleasure."

* * *

Cedric, Fleur and Krum had already finished, and it was a moment before his name was called out.

He walked down the tunnel, knowing that, although he had the Horntail, it wouldn't be trying to kill him. Hopefully.

He entered the arena-like area, glancing around warily, looking for the dragon. He saw the golden egg on a boulder in the center of the arena, and started for it—

But before he had made it five feet, a huge, spiked tail crashed just inches away. He jumped to the left, and managed to barely dodge the tail again. Breaking into a run, he dashed behind a large rock an instant before searing flames roared to life on the other side of it.

They died, and he risked a look over the edge of the rock. The dragon was waiting, and she shot another blast of flame. He ducked just in time, and, while the dragon was distracted, ducked behind another rock and raised his wand. "_Accio Firebolt!_"_  
_

He heard the dragon moving, and quickly moved farther into the jumble of rocks.

A moment later, he heard a faint whooshing sound, and looked up in time to see his broom zooming towards him. He caught it and quickly mounted it, taking off just as the dragon spewed fire in his direction.

He zoomed upward, feeling the heat of the flames just barely scorch his heels. He rose up, and heard the dragon taking off below him. He flew upwards and then looked down; the dragon's chain was stretched nearly straight, and he took his chance.

Falling backwards, he sped downwards and under the dragon's belly, reaching out a hand as he reached the eggs and grabbing the golden one.

* * *

The scores were surprising, and, in the case of Karkaroff, insightful. Ravenna huffed a sigh of relief that the Horntail kept her promise. She had certainly been finicky.

She exited the stands and started up to the castle. Before she reached it, though, she heard someone call her name. She turned, expecting to see Aithusa, but was surprised to see Harry running up the hill. She stopped, and he reached her a minute later.

"I just... wanted to say thank you, for... you know..." he panted.

She nodded. "I was happy to help. And that was a good move with the broom," she added. He looked shocked. "I don't always hold back compliments," she said wryly.

He grinned, and they turned to walk back up to the castle, remaining in companiable silence. For the first time in centuries, Ravenna's lip was curling up slightly.

* * *

Despite the load of homework he had, Harry was in no mood to work, and was in just as fine a mood as everyone else. Fred and George's Canary Creams had turned out to be quite successful, and people were bursting into feathers all over the place.

It was nearing Christmas, and snow was blanketing the grounds when a notice went up on the notice boards in the common rooms: dancing lessons in the Great Hall, and everyone was required to go.

The first lesson was Monday, and when that day arrived, he, Hermione and Ron followed the Gryffindors to the Great Hall. Inside, three people were already waiting: Profesor McGonagle, Mr. Filch, and , surprisingly, Myrrdin and Ravenna.

The students were directed to either side of the hall; girls on the right, boys on the left. McGonagle then proceeded to describe the Yule Ball.

"Now, as you know, the Yule Ball is approaching. It is a way to asociate with our foreign guests, and an oppourtunity to — er — wear our hair down, as they say." Several people in the hall stifled giggles. Professor McGonagle, in her tight bun, looked as if she had never worn her hair down in any sense. "Now, the Yule Ball is open to fourth years and over only, though you may invite a younger student if you wish. You are here to practice the dance that will take place during the Yule Ball, and Ms. Drach and Mr. Sorin will be working with myself and Mr. Filch to teach you. Now, on your feet!"

The students stood up, the boys somewhat reluctantly. Ravenna and Myrrdin each went to a side, and everyone paired up with a partner.

* * *

First, Ravenna and Merlin demonstrated, automatically picking up the fluid movements of a three-beat formal dance. As she guided him slightly, she felt a slight, shy, hesitant nudge on her mind. Raising an eyebrow ever-so-slightly, she opened a connection. _Yes?_

_Um. Well..._

_Just spit it out, Bird-Brain. _

_You sound like Arthur. _

_Do I? Well, I think he'd also point out that you're avoiding the question. What do you want to ask me about?_

_DoyouwanttogototheYuleBall?*_

Silence.

_Sorry?_

_Do you want to... go to the Yule Ball... with me?_

_Hmm. Wondering when you would ask. _

_You'll go?_

_Did I say that?_

_Ah..._

_Idiot. Yes, I'll go, on the condition you don't wear green. _

_What about my neckerchief?_

_Your good-luck charm? I don't have a problem with that, no. We finish in five more steps. _

_Got it. _

They finished, slightly breathless. Ravenn muttered under her breath, "Been awhile since I've done that kind of dance."

McGonagle applauded, and the rest of the students followed suit. Even Filch looked stunned as he fiddled with the megaphone. "Well done!" exclaimed McGonagle. "Very well done! I haven't seen that talent of dancing in decades!"

Merlin flushed slightly. Ravenna raised an eyebrow at him. "Really it's only thanks to me that he knows where to put his feet," she said. "He was never good with them."

A few of the students chuckled, and Minerva smiled warmly. "Would you two still care to give tips, then?"

Ravenna nodded.

* * *

***No, I am NOT by ANY MEANS WHATSOEVER doing a Merlin/OC pairing. The Bird-Boy has Freya, guys. Don't ever forget that. **

**Review?**

**Falcon**


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**_We are the lucky ones,_**

**_We shine like a thousand suns,_**

**_When all the colour runs together,_**

_**I'll keep you company,**_

**_In one glorious harmony,_**

**_Waltzing with destiny forever,_**

**_Dance me into the night,_**

**_Underneath the moon shining so bright,_**

**_Turning me into the night,_**

**Hayley Westenra**

* * *

The night of the ball arrived with a flurry of dresses and dress robes. Ron and Harry joined Pavarti on the journey to the Great Hall. Padma was waiting there, and it was quite obvious that she wasn't exactly impressed with Ron's attire.

The four Champions were called forth with their partners. Harry and Pavarti quickly arranged themselves as the music started. After a minute or so, everyone else was called to the dancefloor. As he whirled among the other students and/or Professors, Harry was surprised to see Myrrdin partnered with Ravenna. The Drake's mouth was actually curling upwards at the edges as she whirled around.

Though that really wasn't the most stunning thing.

* * *

Ravenna had chosen and made her gown several weeks before the Ball, right after Merlin had asked her. It was simple, elegant and brought out her personality quite well.

The silver skirt was long, down to her ankles and, since it was loose and flowing at the bottom, covered her feet, but she didn't step on it and trip. The top was also silver; fitting tightly to her waist and upwards, and had a high collar. The sleeves were black up to her shoulders, and had white threads woven into the darker material. On her forearms, she had stiff silver cuffs, and, as Merlin commented, she looked like a silver huntress. Which, in a way, she was.

Her hair she had done in a braid over her left shoulder, leaving a forlock over her left eye, and doing a french braid down either side of her head.

The four Champions and their partners started onto the dancefloor, and after a full round, the professors were called forth, then the rest of the student body.

After a few dances of the more docile type, everyone was asked to be seated for the feast. Ravenna and Merlin sat at a table where Ron, Padma Patil, Neville Longbottom and Ron's sister, Ginny, were sitting. They nodded to the students, who looked surprised that they were sitting there, and looked at their menus.

The students were confused as to how they ordered their food, until Dumbledore looked at his plate and said, very clearly, "Pork chops."

And pork chops appeared on his plate.

Soon the Great Hall was ringing with the sound of over a hundred people ordering.

After the feast, several people went to bed, and Ravenna went outside to check on Aithusa, who was doing guard duty instead of dancing. He was patrolling along the edge of the Forbidden Forest when she found him, and, saying nothing, joined him.

They patrolled together for the rest of the night.

* * *

"Harry! You said you had worked the clue out already!"

The boy in question sighed. "Hermione, it's a bit complicated."

Hermione fumed. "The task is less than two _weeks _away, and _that's _your excuse?! Harry, you have to figure this out _now, _or you might not survive it!"

"Hermione, I _try! _I try and I fail and I try again, and nothing ever comes of it! Now, do you think you could lower the volume a bit? We're in the _common room_."

Ron looked up. "Hermione, calm down or he'll never figure it out."

"Calm down? _Calm down?! _I'll show you _calming do-_" Hermione broke off as she was interrupted by a ringing bell, followed by Professor McGonagal's stern voice.

"_All students are required to return to their __dormitories immediately, and are required to stay there for the rest of today. All staff, if you will please join me on the grounds._"

The trio looked at each other. "What do you think's happening?" Hermione said quietly as talk burst out all around the common room.

"Who knows?" said Ron.

* * *

Dumbledore was exiting the doors as Minerva approached him. "Headmaster, oh thank goodness. Wait till you see-"

"What has happened, Minerva?"

"There is a fire in the Forbidden Forest! And not just any fire, Headmaster. It is cursed fire. All of the staff working together couldn't put it out. And there's another thing," the near-hysterical professor said. "Ravenna and Myrddin were on patrol, and when the fire started up, the woman simply collapsed! Albus," here, she looked around carefully. "I think she may be... a Drake."

* * *

***blinks* This... is the absolute worst thing I have ever had the misfortune to do. It's short, and it sucks. Wish I had Belt the Sloth with me for an emergency inspiration charge. You know, Belt from the Croods? The 'Dun dun duuunnn!' guy? Pink fur? Cuteness overload?**

**Eh... I suck. **

**Review and tell me how sucky it is. **

**(a very dispirited) Falcon. **


	17. Chapter Sixteen

_**They don't see the traps,**_

_**No fool, oh oh,**_

_**They won't go back,**_

_**No fool, oh oh,**_

_**They've got a mind track,**_

_**No fool, oh oh,**_

_**It's all a mystery, **_

_**Let it come and let it be,**_

**Blackmill**

* * *

It was a fortnight before the second task when the balance shifted too much.

Ravenna and Merlin were patrolling together for the first time since the dance. Aithusa had decided to lie in that night, and there was absolutely nothing in sight or earshot that was even frownwroughting.

But, of course, that was before twilight.

When the moon, a thin crecent, reached it's zenith point, all hell broke loose—for Merlin, anyway. In the center of the forest, a great plume of flame shot up, curling into great beasts and predators, accompanied by a sound like a strangled dragon. At that moment, Ravenna moaned in pain and clutched her head.

Lifting her face, she gasped "The forest... it's _screaming, _Merlin."

The next intstant, another curl of fire rose up, the screeching, painful noises rose in volume, and Ravenna's silver eyes rolled back in her head. Merlin crouched next to her. "Ravenna!" She stayed still.

He looked towards the forest, and the great, raging fires rising from it, and plunged in.

* * *

McGonagal and Dumbledore quickly reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Near the edge lay a crumpled figure. Albus hurriedly rushed over, kneeling beside the still form and turing it over. It was Ravenna, still out cold.

Gently, he lifted the lid of her right eye. It wasn't human: the irises took up most of the ball, and the pupil was a cat-like slit. It was the Eye of a Drake.

He lowered the eyelid, and turned to McGonagal. "Minerva, take Ms. Drach to the hospital wing, if you would, and inform her nephew of the predicament. For now, I should search for her companion."

"Yes, Albus," she replied. Pulling out her wand, she waved it at the Drake's prone form. She rose off the ground and floated next to the professor as she made her way to the castle.

Albus turned towards the forest, where flickers of flame were still dancing. Whipping out his wand in a smooth motion, he strode in.

He hadn't walked ten minutes before he heard shouting, presumably spellwork. Except it wasn't Latin.

Albus quickened his pace, dodging trees and a few slightly smoldering bushes before he came into a clearing. Myrrdin was standing there, seeming to direct the flames as they swirled into a small funnel in the center of the clearing. Using his hands to give directions, he held no wand, and his eyes gleamed gold. The fires were bucking and rearing, seeming not to want to collect together at all, wishing to spread and devour endlessly. But the man held no regard for its wishes, simply reining it in and compressing it mercilessly.

Albus stood there, gaping, for several minutes whilst the man continued to turn the flames into a small, compressed fireball, then proceeded to lock the fire in a fist-sized ruby—which he pulled out of his pocket—and tuck it away in another pocket.

As soon as he did, the forest suddenly became very, very dark. Albus stiffened and quickly ducked behind a tree. He felt more than heard Myrrdin walk past.

After waiting a minute to make sure the man had indeed gone on, Albus made his way back to the edge of the Forest.

* * *

**Sorry it's short...AGAIN. Thank you SO MUCH to all those people who reviewed last chapter and said it wasn't sucky :) You guys are the BEST!**

**Plz review!**

**(a much more cheerful) Falcon**


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**HOORAY! I'm back. :D**

_**I don't wanna feel like this tomorrow  
I don't wanna live like this today  
Make me feel better  
I wanna feel better  
Stay with me here now  
And never **_**_surrender_**

* * *

Head... splitting in two. Arms... bearing the weight that Atlas should have been carrying. Legs and feet... far too many times around the world. Stomach... crying for sustenance. Why? Some stupid idiot decided to set the Forbidden Forest on fire. Who? Well, that was the problem. Ravenna mulled the information over in her head as she sat on the hospital bed, Aithusa sitting awkwardly beside her.

The doors to the hospital wing opened then, and Ravenna could see the Headmaster and the Deputy Headmistress sweep in like medieval vampires. And she had met far too many vampires who had done that and then tried to kill her.

The professors swept over. She tilted her head, reading them. McGonegall's mouth was set in a stern line, her eyes were slightly thunderous, and her stiff posture did not look very promising. Dumbledore, however, was… indecisive. "Ms. Drach?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

The man—she really couldn't call him old, could she?—cleared his throat. "We have decided that you may remain at Hogwarts, but only if you show us that you are more than capable of controlling your… other side."

She snorted. "And you're asking this now? I've been in control for years. Since I was eight."

McGonegall frowned. "There have been many Drakes who have been in 'control' since they were toddlers, and yet have ravaged whole cities when angry. You cannot expect us to simply believe your word."

Aithusa stood up. "If she didn't have control, I wouldn't be here." His voice was strong, but quiet.

Dumbledore raised a hand. "It is up to Ravenna herself."

The Drake in question stood. "If it makes you feel safe, I'll show you. But it can't be on the grounds. Either in the forest, or in the mountains. I would rather stay undercover."

Dumbledore nodded. "Understood. Perhaps tomorrow, as it is the week's end? I believe I know a fine cave near Hogsmead."

Ravenna dipped her head in agreement. "Caves are good."

* * *

That evening, Merlin came to visit her. When he saw her sitting nonchalantly on the foot of her bed, he immediately rushed over. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

Ravenna raised her eyebrows at him. "When did you care?"

Aithusa smacked her arm, gently. _At least let him be nice._

_I don't do nice. _

_Then let him. He was worried about you. _

_Right. I shall believe that whole-heartedly when Uther starts a Druid's charity. _

_Why are you being so __impossible?!_

_I know you are, but what am I?_

_Did someone put an enchantment on you?_

_Very funny. _

Aithusa was frowning now. He turned to Merlin, presumably having a mental conversation.

It went something like this.

_I don't think she's under her own control anymore._

_What makes you say that?_

_She doesn't make rude comebacks._

_People do change. _

_After fifteen centuries of remaining _un_changed?! Neither you nor I believe that for a single second._

_Well then, what should we do? If Dumbledore and McGonegall are going to… oh no._

_What?_

_If she's been put under some spell, what's to say she won't be forced to attack the professors?_

There was a pause. Then;

_GREAT RAGMAR AND BELGABAD! Life is a horrid ordeal._

_You can certainly say that again._

Merlin thought it over.

Aithusa suddenly sat up straighter. _Disguise me._

_What?_

_Disguise me as Ravenna._

_It's horrible, you know…_

_She's like a mother to me. I am not about to let her just walk over there and attack the professors._

_Alright. But don't ever say I never warned you._

* * *

**I did that… I don't even know why I did that. To give the story some innards, maybe?**

**Review!**

**Falcon**


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Hi. I only own Ravenna.**

_**The secret side of me,**_

_**I never let you see,**_

_**I keep it caged**_

_**But I can't control it,**_

_**So stay away from me,**_

_**The beast is ugly,**_

_**I feel the rage**_

_**And I just can't hold it**_

**Skillet**

* * *

As Aithusa sat in the Great Hall, waiting for McGonagall and Dumbledore, he reflected back on what Merlin had told him. That it felt strange, weird and definitely _not _comfortable to have changed gender, but that was what he had first felt when he turned into a human. His wings were gone, he had no idea what to do with his feet, and his legs and arms just felt so _wrong. _

Now, he looked and sounded like Ravenna, and it wasn't the most comfortable of things to look or sound like. Her hair was a bit long for his taste, her legs were longer than his by far, and he had apparently obtained Ravenna's Drake abilities. He felt that if he wasn't careful, he'd turn into Ravenna's Drake form and destroy the school.

It was very hard to imagine living through this every single day of his life. He was suddenly glad he could change forms with a spell instead of naturally having the ability to change. Aithusa knew that emotions were strong triggers for Drakes.

Suddenly, he noticed McGonagall and Dumbledore enter the Hall. He stood up, placing a neutral expression on his face. He was hardly going to smile where Ravenna wouldn't.

"Ah, Ms. Drach," greeted Dumbledore. "Shall we?" Aithusa nodded to him, and they left the Great Hall, exited the castle and headed for the gates. All in silence, of course.

They skirted Hogsmead and turned towards the forest, headed for a nearby mountain. The climb was steep, but Dumbledore and McGonagal didn't seem to mind. Aithusa, being a dragon, could have easily climbed Mt. Everest, carrying a heavy load, without breaking a sweat.

After hiking and climbing for over two hours, they reached a large rock clearing. On all sides there were steep ridges hiding the rest of the land from view, and in the center was a dip full of shale and shingles. All in all, Aithusa reasoned it was a good place. He turned to the two Professors. "You may want to stand back," he said in Ravenna's voice.

Dumbledore smiled graciously and stepped back alongside McGonagal, giving Aithusa the whole clearing. Aithusa walked into the center of the small vale and stood a moment, concentrating. He had once asked Ravenna how she kept her 'other side' in check. Ravenna had smirked ever-so-slightly and said she kept it comfortable within the recesses of her mind. "If you keep it in a mental cage," she'd said, "it will grow angry, and hard to control. Many Drakes have tried to keep their ability locked away, but when the found they needed it, the Drake side broke free of mental control, ravaging and destroying. The only thing worse than an imprisoned Drake is a Phoenix—although they have evolved into a more peaceful bird over time, they are still a very formidable creature when angered." Aithusa held on to Ravenna's wise words, knowing they could mean life or death in this situation.

He took a deep, deep breath…

And _changed. _

* * *

Merlin paced inside Ravenna's living quarters, wondering what in Kilgarrah's name he was going to do. He had had to knock Ravenna out to get her to stay in her rooms—she had been very adamant that she go down to the Great Hall to meet Dumbledore and McGonagal—and it was no easy task. He had been breathing heavily for the next ten minutes for Avalon's sake! He grumbled to himself about hard-headed Drake women for the next hour, too.

Merlin huffed with annoyance as he felt Ravenna stirring again. Whenever she did, waves of magic would roll into the living room, and it was a headache to capture them up and put them back onto Ravenna's sleeping form. He had spent the afternoon (and much of late morning) sitting in Ravenna's living room, trying to unravel whatever enchantment had been put upon his friend. Upon investigation—he loved that word—he found that there were many layers of what he called 'mind-boggleries'. They were a right nuisance to deal with, too.

Merlin gathered up the fragments of sleeping spell and made to put them back on Ravenna. He frowned when they just rolled right off again. _Ravenna?_

_What in the name of Arianna's great white doves happened?_

Merlin snickered. _Arianna's great white doves?_

_Believe me, they were huge. Zera refused to go near them on a good day. What happened? Or shall I start using wizard slang?_

_Where in the world did they get the idea that I have a five-foot-long beard, anyway?_

_Dragoon, probably. Have you forgotten how much time I've spent within earshot of Harry and his friends—particularly Ronald? He has quite a vocabulary, _mused Ravenna. _Answer the question. _

_Alright! When the forest went up in flames, you fell unconscious, and someone put many layers of mind-boggleries on you._

A minute passed. Then another.

_Ravenna?_

_I really hate Death Eaters. _

_You think it was Death Eaters?_

_I _know _it was. I can recognize that feeling any day… where's Aithusa?_

_Covering your tail._

_Nice of him. Where's the pantry?_

_Sorry?_

_I had an enchanted pantry put in here a while back… where is it?_

_Erm… would it happen to be as tall as the ceiling, made of ebony-wood, and have engravings of pegasi and griffins on it?_

_Yes! Where?! _

_You haven't been this excited to eat in all the centuries I have known you. _

_So? Getting knocked out makes one hungry. As well as dizzy, so if you could get me a good breakfast, that would be helpful._

_Are you sure you're back to yourself?_

_Just do it, bird-boy._

_I resent that! _Merlin protested as he took out fruit, some bread and a salmon steak.

_…what else is new?_

_Aithusa and the Professors are back. _

_Good. Hope he didn't scare them. _

_No, but they looked a bit startled, _the white dragon butted in.

Merlin smiled as he opened Ravenna's bedroom door, noticing the Drake sitting cross-legged on the footboard of her bed. _Well? What happened? _asked Merlin.

_I turned into Ravenna, they backed up a bit, I changed back, and we came back to the school. _

_Sounds uneventful, _Ravenna commented as she tore off a piece of bread.

_Just about. We met a couple centaurs, but that was it._

_Where?_

_Just outside Hogsmeade. _

Merlin noticed Ravenna frowning. "Is something wrong?" he asked quietly.

She shook her head, her long black hair billowing with the motion. "I don't know… I might go down to pay a visit to the centaurs, tonight, see if they know anything about the fire."

Merlin stood. "I'll come with you."

Ravenna gave him a look. "No, you won't. Guard post for you. The second task is tomorrow, after all."

* * *

"Hermione, I _know _the task is tomorrow, it's the reason we're here!" Harry ran a hand through his hair, wishing that the book he needed would just pop out of thin air in front of him. They were in the library, and had been for the past several hours. Hermione was pulling down book after book, anything to do with charms and spells or water-related subjects. Ron was flipping through them, and Harry picked up books, scanned the index, threw it down when it had nothing, and paced.

"Harry, you're _sure_—"

"Of course I'm sure, Hermione," Harry snapped as he threw down another book yet again. He heard footsteps behind him, and he turned.

Ravenna stood there. "Miss Granger, and Mister Weasley, if you would come with me, the Headmaster requires your presence."

Ron and Hermione stood."Why?"

"It will be explained in Professor Dumbledore's office. Come," said Ravenna. She turned around and swept out the library. Hermione glanced backwards.

"Bring whatever books you can back to the common room when you leave; we'll look through them tonight," she said. Harry sighed and nodded.

* * *

**I am SO sorry! I had the absolute WORST experience—GETTING DISINTERESTED IN THE FANDOM. O.O Horrible! Awful! Absurd! **

**Anyways, I hope this near-2000-word chapter will make up for my ****absence. **

**REVIEW!**

**Fate**


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Hey! I'm back. Ravenna is mine, and belongs to NO ONE ELSE!**

_**We were the kings and queens of promise**_

_**We were the victims of ourselves**_

_**Maybe the children of a lesser God**_

_**Between Heaven and Hell.**_

Ravenna looked around her. The Forbidden Forest certainly looked forbidden. Pulling up the hood of her cloak and sinking into the cowl, she swept on. Tonight was the half-moon, a sacred night for centaurs. They would be doing something passed on from the Druids of her own time; a sacred dance of the Half Light. Ravenna's lip curled into a sneer at the thought. Drakes were very much 'Half Lighted', in the judgement of the Druids. She had been special. Hypocrites.

Then again, it was the only time she was able to converse at all with children of other camps. Freya had been a good friend to her, right along with Mo— _him. _

Ravenna shook herself out of her smoke-filled memories with a snarl. _Just find where the centaurs will gather and ask about the fire. For Gål Dœn's sake, don't lose yourself in those memories!_

Glaring silently, Ravenna continued walking—and stopped. This was _definitely _the place. It was perfect; a large clearing, a perfect ring of pine and spruce trees, and in the center was a wide, flattish boulder, not too tall and not too big… and infused with magic from the Old Religion. A smile tugged the left corner of her mouth. Yep, this was it.

* * *

Merlin groaned as he saw that Harry might not make it. He scanned the grounds between the castle and the lake, looking for some sign of a running figure. No, no, no… there! Finally. Merlin frowned worriedly, urging Harry on. _Make it, make it, make it… yes! _Just as the whistle was blown, the desperate figure reached the beach. _  
_

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief—and then jumped as Ravenna's voice penetrated his mind. _I'm going in, _she said. Earlier in the week, they had decided that Ravenna could give her natural Drake abilities a workout. Since Drakes and dragons would often fly in air so thin you couldn't breathe, they had the ability to hold their breath for long periods of time. Ravenna decided to keep an eye on the task underwater, with the merpeople.

_Be careful, _warned Merlin.

_Look who's talking. _

_Oh, shut it. _

_Alright then, you can find your own way of watching underwater. _Before Merlin could stop her, Ravenna broke the connection.

* * *

Ravenna nearly chuckled as she severed the connection with Merlin. Shaking her head, she looked around. Everyone was in the stands, except for Aithusa, who was on patrol. Ravenna stood on the beach, as far from the castle as she could get. Satisfied there was no one around to watch, she plunged into the lake, swimming down deep before changing.

As her spine expanded and her skull lengthened into a more comfortable—and streamlined—shape, Ravenna flicked her tail, sending herself zooming down into the depths of the lake, until she reached a forest of water weeds. Observing the waving plants carefully, she pinpointed three different currents that travelled in the direction of the merpeoples' city. Theoretically, if she kept a close eye on the grass, she could be there within a matter of a few minutes.

Picking what looked to be a more direct current, she set off, letting the natural waterflow take her to it's destination.

After about fifteen minutes, the waving grass gave way to twisted, algae-covered stone structures. The merpeoples' city.

Nodding to the faces that peeked out from behind columns or doorframes, Ravenna swam to the square, where a giant statue stood the center of attention. Tied to it's tail were four unconscious figures; one with fiery red hair floating about his face, another with brown curls drifting in the currents, a girl with midnight-black hair floating freely about, and a little girl, hardly older then ten, with a cloud of silvery hair. Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, Cho Chang and Gabrielle Delacour.

Ravenna hoped Harry wouldn't be stupid enough to try to take Hermione and Cho as well as Ron.

As she settled herself down to wait, Ravenna noticed the merpeople coming up to her. One mermaid, the Cheiftain, came right up to her and bowed. "It is a great honor to have you here," she said. Her green hair floated around her face, giving her an eerily beautiful look.

Ravenna nodded slowly. _It is an honor to meet those who still live by the Old Religion. _

The mermaid smiled, showing needle-sharp teeth. With a flick of her powerful tail, the Cheiftain disappeared.

After a while, Ravenna noticed a figure approaching. When she saw the finned feet and webbed hands, the thought _giliweed _immediately popped into her head. Harry propelled himself over to where the four prisoners were tied, and looked for some way to cut them loose. Finally, he swam towards the ground and picked up a sharp-looking rock.

First he cut Ronald loose, but when he tried to go for Hermione, the merpeople retaliated.

Ravenna saw Harry frown, and say something while pulling out his wand. She flared her wings, ready if things got messy.

The arrival of Victor Krum stopped that possibility. His head was that of a shark, which effectively scared the merpeople. He tried to bite Hermione's rope, but shark teeth really weren't meant for that. Harry tapped Krum on the shoulder, showing him the rock. Krum grabbed it and started sawing on the rope.

He left a minute later. Not five minutes after, Cedric Diggory swam up. He cut Chang's rope and tapped his watch with his wand—warning Harry, who nodded.

Diggory left. After a long time, it seemed Fleur wouldn't be coming. Harry swam toward Gabrielle and started to cut her loose. Ravenna watched, fasinated that he could be so selfless as to rescue a stranger he didn't even know.

When Gabrielle's bindings were cut, Harry grabbed her arm and Ron's and started swimming for the surface. With a thrash of her tail, Ravenna followed at a distance.

**Bleeeegghhhh… *is dead* SO BORING. **

**Review 'cause it cheers me up!**

**Fate**


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Hiiiiiiiiiii… I had a REALLY tiring day today, so, yeah.**

_**I know you know enough to say**_

_**I know you know enough to play a game**_

_**You wanna be the one in control**_

_**You wanna be the one who's alive**_

_**You wanna be the one who gets old**_

_**It's not a matter of luck, it's just a matter of time**_

**30 Seconds to Mars (not Pluto, that's about thirty minutes)**

Ravenna stretched her black wings, shaking herself. It was three months after the second task, and she hadn't had the time to change shape at all. Today she had decided to head down to the Forest and stretch her legs—at least, that's what she told other people. Ravenna didn't forget her tail, neck and wings.

After sufficiently removing kinks and stiff spots from her long, winding spine, Ravenna leapt forward into a rapid sprint. Dodging trees and daytime animals (she was too fast for them to get out-of-the-way themselves, apparently), Ravenna leaped and bounded across the forest floor. The cool, moist wind, promising rain, brushed against her scales, making them shimmer when sunlight would gleam through the trees. The very air felt _alive._ Ravenna's Druidic senses intermingled with her natural eyesight, hearing and smell, making them stronger and clearer. Here, a herd of centaurs had galloped north, hunting a boar. There, two werewolves had fought on the last full moon.

Ravenna kept running, feeling like a part of the wind—and she hadn't even spread her wings.

Running, running, she ran for hours, barely tiring, breathing evenly through her wide nostrils. The forest gave her strength; it was part of her heritage, both Drake and Druid. It made her remember green, sunlit afternoons, racing around a rock that looked almost _exactly _like the one she had just passed…

Wait.

What?!

Ravenna let out a snort and flared her wings, digging her hind claws into the earth to stop herself. When she finally came to a halt, Ravenna picked herself up and trotted—alright, galloped—back to where she had seen the rock.

She came into an open clearing, and in the center was the rock. _Their _rock. The one herself and her long-ago-long-dead best friend had claimed. The one she had hidden behind when her Drake powers first came into play… but what was it doing in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts?

Or had it always been here, and the Forest grown up around it? Thinking back, she realized Aithusa had told her of a strange, sad, and faintly magical rock in the forest… but how was the rock she had played King of the Castle on as a child magical?

Unless… no, she was _not _going down _that_ path again! Frowning, Ravenna stalked into the clearing, carefully sniffing, eyeing, touching with her tail-tip, and generally observing it _thoroughly._ In her intense concentration, she didn't realize that she wasn't alone in the clearing until it was too late to do anything.

* * *

Merlin ran a shaky hand through his hair. If what he was seeing was true, they were basically a huge failure.

When Ravenna hadn't returned from her little 'walk' in the Forbidden Forest for several hours, he had asked his namesakes, the merlins, to fly around and see if they could find her. Five of the six had returned with nothing, but the last one came back with a singed wing, ruffled pride and some _very _bad news.

The merlin had found a rock in a clearing deep in the forest; off to one side, there was a scattering of gleaming black, teardrop-shaped scales. And blood, some colored dark crimson—human blood—and some a fiery shade of scarlet. The blood of dragons and Drakes.

The merlin had followed a barely visible trail, searching for whoever had done this. After about an hour's flight, he caught up to a figure dragging Ravenna—in human form—away, and was nearly out of the forest, too. The merlin had shrieked and dive-bombed the man, who turned and let loose with a hot fireball—in the process revealing his face.

As Merlin had suspected, it was Regdna. Hard to mistake those eyes; narrow, and a strange shade of fiery magenta, filled with hatred.

The bird almost didn't make it out of there and back to Merlin. When he looked into the mind of the bird and saw what happened, he immediately realized that it must have been Regdna who set the forest aflame and tried to take over Ravenna's mind.

The frustrating thing was that Regdna had probably gotten beyond the Forest's borders by now and had Apparated away. Where he had gone, Merlin hadn't the faintest idea.

* * *

**Blurgh. Too short. Perhaps that's just what it needs, though. **

**Next chapter, the third task! =D**

**_PLEASE REVIEW!_  
**

**Fate**


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

**Helloooooooooooo there! Welcome, my dear readers, to the beginning of the exciting piece of this long, winding, never-ending stoooorrryyyy! (****_nanana nanana nananaaaa_****…)**

_**Into the night**_

**_Desperate and broken_**

**_The sound of a fight_**

**_Father has spoken…_**

* * *

Dankness. Dampness. Wetness. Rats. And…

And _Mordgal chains. _The only things capable of stopping a Drake's shape-shifting abilities.

This is what Ravenna immediately noticed when she roused from unconsciousness. The room she was in looked like a basement, and a very ill-tended one at that: fungus vines hung from the walls and ceiling, which were also covered base to top with mold, mildew and filth. There were no lights—though that didn't bother her natural Drake see-in-the-dark ability—and the thick black Mordgal chains were efficiently wrapped around her upper arms, forearms and torso, wound around her neck, and were fastened around her legs and ankles, making her a badly wrapped Mordgal mummy. More thick chains were hooked to the links around her body and connected securely to the walls behind her—reinforced, of course, with more Mordgal.

Mordgal was a magical metal, mined from meteors and meteorites. It was a thick, oily black that seemed like solid darkness, and was strong enough to hold fifteen Kilgarrahs on a long, suspended, twig-thin pole—and yet light enough that a two-year-old girl with a fever could pick up the same pole; albeit without the Kilgarrahs. The natural magic within the metal absorbed, diluted and pacified a Drake's natural magic, making it impossible for the unlucky toucher to change shape.

When wizardkind found it, and discovered what it could do, the Minister of Magic, Geiza Madon, had it put to use as a weapon against rogue Drakes. Whenever an unfortunate Drake lost control, or simply stood up against the prosecution, they were immediately 'dispatched'. In recent years, Drakes started going into hiding, trying to learn how to control their gifts, or simply running from it all. Ravenna, being an 'ancient' Drake, had no problems blending in.

Though it seemed that had pretty much failed in light of recent events.

Blinking rapidly, Ravenna sniffed the air, trying to sample some that could tell her where in Albion's name she was. Underneath the mold and water, she could taste a bit of sharp, cool air—so it was somewhere north, but probably not near so far as Durmstrang—and cut grass. Somewhere that had been cared for recently, and if the kerosene smoke was anything to say, probably non-magic folk. And, beneath all of this, she could sent traces of aged wood, brick-dust, fear, and snakeskin.

Ravenna glared at the wall.

Sometimes it was good to have such a strong nose.

But if her calculations of all her scent findings were correct, she was in some forgotten basement in some old mansion. And there was no lack of those in Great Britain.

* * *

"GRAAAGHH!"

**_CLANG!_**

"ACH!"

Aithusa froze where he stood.

He was in the fifth floor corridor, walking past Merlin's room. And the occupant did _not _seem happy.

Nervously, he opened the heavy oaken door to Merlin's quarters, ready to duck if anything sharp or heavy flew over to assail him. In the middle of the dragonlord's living room was a pile of convenient metal or wooden objects—pieces of armor, pikes, vases, dishes, even a chair—that was gradually being thrown about the room. The thrower of these objects was now nursing a bleeding finger; result of throwing a sharp blade at the wall and having it rebound.

Aithusa cleared his throat, and Merlin spun around, a crazed, feral look in his eyes. The warlock relaxed as his gaze fell on Aithusa. "Oh… sorry."

Aithusa raised his eyebrow—a trick he had learned from Ravenna—and said in his soft, melancholy voice, "Sorry for what? I _am_ a dragon, you'd have to try very, very hard to startle me."

Merlin snorted. "That's Ravenna's line; except with 'Drake' instead of 'dragon.'"

The white dragon gave a sly smirk. "Where else would I have gotten it?"

Merlin smiled softly. "Yeah…"

Aithusa frowned as he moved into the room. "What's bothering you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

Merlin sighed. "I'm worried. Not just about Ravenna. I… I'm worried…" The dragonlord sighed forlornly.

"You're worried about what side she'd choose if _he _somehow comes back."

Another sigh. "Pretty much."

* * *

For the trillionth time that morning, Harry started nibbling on his thumb nail. He was nervous; and with very good reason. It was the eve of the third task, after all. And it was a Saturday.

Ron and Hermione were in the library, looking up some last-minute jinxes, curses and spells for Harry. At the moment, exhausted and jitterish from it all, Harry had decided to spend some time on the grounds to get some fresh air.

Heaving a heavy sigh in the slightly chilly spring air, he strolled down to the shore, heading for the tree that he, Hermione and Ron would usually sit under. When he reached it, he carefully assessed the high branches, looking for good hand- and foot-holds. After walking around it twice in each direction, Harry found a steady path.

Reaching up, Harry grabbed the nearest hand-hold—and stopped short as a voice said, "Wouldn't take that one if I were you."

Startled, Harry whipped around to come face-to-face with Myrddin Arlock. The older man's raven hair seemed even messier than usual, and his normally bright blue-green eyes were clouded with tiredness. "H-hey," Harry stammered. "You startled me."

Myrrdin chuckled. "So I see. How've you been lately?"

Harry shrugged as he grimaced. "Anxious. Nervous. Terrified. Scared out of my wits. Unlucky. Take your pick."

Myrrdin 'mm'd in response. "Don't worry, all you need to watch out for are the dementors, Blast-Ended Skrewts, Achromantulas and the Sphinx. Maybe a kelpie," he added jokingly. "If you're wanting to climb, take the second-lowest branch on your left, and go straight up until you're at your preferred hight."

"Thanks," said Harry. He took the branch Myrrdin suggested and climbed up about a meter and a half. "How have you been? And don't tell me fine, because you're obviously not fine."

The man raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. "And what do you mean by that?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Your eyes are clouded over, your hair is a mess, your stance is tense and stiff, and you crossed your arms defensively when you spoke."

Myrrdin looked surprised. "I had no idea one could take Psychology here at Hogwarts. I was thinking it was just Charms, Spells, History, Jinxes and Curses."

Harry laughed, then stopped abruptly and frowned at Myrrdin. "Avoiding the original question."

The wizard sighed. "Yep. To tell you the truth, I'm a bit worried at the moment."

"Why?"

"Ravenna hasn't been around lately. Haven't you noticed the lack of her gloomy, depressed air?"

Harry frowned, thinking. When he thought about it, he hadn't seen Ravenna for over a week now. "Huh. Never noticed. She tends to sort of… blend into the shadows."

Myrrdin snorted. "Got that right."

"Do you know where she is?"

"No. Aithu– Aythen doesn't know either."

Harry frowned, worried for the Drake—even if he barely knew her. "Do you know what happened? When did you last see her?"

Myrrdin looked at him. "I last saw her going for a walk in the Forbidden Forest. When she didn't come back, Aythen and I tracked her trail."

Harry waited. "And?"

"And we found a second set of footprints that showed us Ravenna had been kidnapped."

* * *

**Alright, so this wasn't as exciting as I promised. But it will be soon! I'm being honest this time, I swear.**

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

**Fate**


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

**WOOHOO! THIS is the chapter… I think. **

**Moldy Voldymort's Return! Yay! ('Yay' because it means that more than one person is 'returning', alright? I'm not a fan of Moldy Voldy)**

_**Don't ever take a single second to breathe,**_

**_They're gonna send me on a murdering spree._**

**_I cannot wait to dance upon your grave._**

**_They don't even have a soul left to be saved._**

**30 Seconds to Mars**

* * *

"Well well well, if it isn't the _Royal Raven _of Andlunn, eh, _Drake_?"

Regdna's hot, whiskey-tinged breath washed over her face in stinkingly sweet waves, making Ravenna struggle not to wrinkle her nose in distaste. "If you know who I was, then you'll know even Mordgal chains won't hold me for much longer."

The man leaned back with laughter, filthy dark brown hanging in sweat-stained streaks, making him look even madder then he had been. "If you're so great," he said, sneering, "then how come you're here in His Lordship's basement, rotting away like old harvest?"

Ravenna raised her eyebrows, managing to look somehow dignified, even in chains. "Because I want to be. Nothing like knowing what an insane criminal is up to—if I know you, you'll be trying to raise some of the worst deceased Death Eaters from the grave."

Redgna roared with laughter again, holding his sides. "Oh, how close to the truth you are, _Drake_. Unfortunately, I have no wish to raise those weaklings. No," he said, leaning in close again. "No, tonight we'll be raising someone else from the dead. And that," he whispered, magenta-red eyes glinting evilly. "is why we'll be needing you—though you don't need to be conscious for that, admittedly."

He finished with a smirk, and before Ravenna could even blink, a heavy, merciless weight slammed into the side of her skull and she slumped against the thick black Mordgal chains, unconscious.

(-–—–-:|:=:|:-–—–-)

When Ravenna finally came back around, she was in a graveyard. Her arms were outstretched to either side, and a pair of stone arms encircled her waist. Black Mordgal chains were wrapped around her middle, circled around her chest and wound up each arm. A length of chain held her ankles in place. When she turned her head, Ravenna could see that her arms were hooked onto a stone angel's wings, and the same angel had its arms wrapped around her.

Gazing around, her tormented head was barely able to take in tall, creepy-looking headstones and statues, fog, a cauldron, and a two-foot-high marble column.

On the column was an ancient-looking scroll.

And it was practically radiating magic of the Old Religion.

Ravenna narrowed her eyes as she frowned, examining the scroll from a distance. It looked like any old scroll, save for the language the scroll was written in. It lay open atop the column, and seemed both menacing and wonderful all at once.

She jumped as a loud, arrogant voice spoke up. "Hello? Anyone out there? No, of course not, because you're too _stupid _to exist! Where are you, coward? Come on, answer me, seeing as I can't fight _back, _correct? Wrong!"

To a normal person, nothing would have changed, but for Ravenna, who practiced the Old Religion, she could see a blur of light, like a rapier, flashing through the air. Eyes slightly wide, she looked on, wondering what in Albion's name was going on. It seemed that the _scroll _was talking, but how? And why did that voice sound familiar?

Shaking her head, Ravenna sagged forward, suddenly exhausted. Whatever—or even _whoever_—the scroll was, she would have nothing to do with it until she somehow was out of these chains.

* * *

Harry was shocked. When he and Cedric had grabbed the Triwizard Cup, he had expected for the maze to melt away, or something—_not _to end up in the graveyard from his nightmares. In the center of a slightly cleared away space, a cauldron filled with a bubbling, gloopy potion stood at attention, close to a small marble table-thing. On the marble, there lay an open scroll, in a script he couldn't translate. As far as he could tell, it was a list—there seemed to be twelve short paragraphs, with a word, a line, and then what looked like some sort of spell:

_Lechöña—Zchäch sven œłen rïsa_

_Pręsīvcæl—Zchäch sven œłen rïsa_

_Lčadįs Gwēnvaire—Zchäch sven œłen rïsa_

And so it continued.

No sense whatsoever.

He turned when Cedric called for him. "Harry? Harry there's someone here! It looks like one of the school guards…"

Harry's eyes widened, and he sprinted to where Cedric stood, nearly hidden in the thick fog. He slid to a stop as he saw what Cedric had meant; an unconscious Ravenna, bound with thick, menacing black chains to a stone angel like some sort of human sacrifice. "It's Ravenna… but how…?"

As Harry spoke, the Drake stirred. Cedric backed up a step as Ravenna lifted her head, blinking at the sight of them. "Harry…? How did you… what…?"

A voice, arrogant and evil-sounding, spoke. "Would you like me to answer the questions, or someone else? Because I'm sure we can wait for the procedure to finish."

"_Kill the spare…_"

Both Harry and Ravenna shouted "No!" at the same time. A faintly glowing bubble suddenly popped into existence around Cedric as a figure shot off a Killing Curse. The jet of green light rebounded and disappeared into the night. Harry stared, unable to comprehend it.

"Harry, Cedric, get to the Cup _now._"

Harry turned to Ravenna. "What about you?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," said the Drake.

Cedric frowned at the two approaching figures. "How do you know you'll be fine?"

"Just go! Before—" Suddenly, Harry was lifted off his feet and secured to a tall stone statue of a Reaper. The thing's scythe instantaneously came around to secure him. Out the corner of his eye, Harry could see Cedric thrown against a large cross.

"Before that happens," Ravenna finished with a mutter.

"So! It seems the Drake has figured out a few… _tricks, _eh?" The speaker came into light. Tall and stick-thin, the man had filth-covered, greasy dark blond hair and narrow eyes that were a strange shade of reddish magenta. The man's clothing was ragtag and torn, but had obviously once been brilliant and luxurious: knee-high leather riding boots, loose tan trousers, a thick leather belt, a once white shirt with loose, flowing sleeves, a dark red vest patterned with darker leaves and vines, and a long overcoat. His face and chin were covered in dark stubble.

"Let them go, Regdna."

The man—Regdna—snorted. "And what exactly will you do if I did, hmm? Even you couldn't escape those Mordgal chains so quickly as to actually stop us from doing anything. Isn't that right, Wormtail?" he asked loudly over his shoulder.

The figure behind Regdna cowered with his bundle. "Y-yes, Regdna." The Animagus carried the swath of cloth over to the cauldron, and hurriedly emptied it's contents into the thick, boiling liquid.

"You see? Even now, you are too late!" Regdna let loose a mad cackle as Wormtail started muttering things and casting spells. As Regdna picked up the scroll from where it lay on the column—

—a voice suddenly shouted, "YOU! You thought you could hide forever, didn't you?!" There was a sound like two sudden, brief breezes; _whoot_ _whoot_; and two scarlet lines appeared on Regdna's face. He hissed with pain and fury, but it didn't stop him from casting the spell.

"_Lčadįs Mrgæña,_" he chanted. "_Zchäch sven œłen rïsa!_"

Thick mist formed around his feet, snaking around his legs as Harry cried out in pain. Wormtail had taken the 'blood from the enemy', and had dropped it into the potion. As steam rose from it and thickened into the shape of a man, the mist from Regdna's spell heightened considerably, almost copying the steam from the cauldron.

As the steam retreated from the now visible figure of Lord Voldemort, Ravenna paled as she realized exactly who it was Regdna had called from the beyond.

Some of the mist darkened to black and flowed down around insubstantial shoulders, more twisted into a billowing white gown, but it all came together in the shape of a very memorable being. Even if Ravenna had never laid eyes on her, she could certainly recognize Lady Morgana Pendragon anywhere.

* * *

**Did I say there wouldn't be a cliffhanger?**

**No, I didn't. *strolls away to watch Tangled***

**Pleeeeease review!**

**Fate**


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three

**Hehehe, sorry for the cliffhanger back there, but the chapter was getting ****_looooong. _****Over 1400 words! You guys are lucky.**

**My hands really aren't, though.**

**_Tonight I'm so alone  
_  
_This sorrow takes a hold  
_  
_Don't leave me here so cold  
_  
_(Never want to be so cold)_**

* * *

Everything was silent. Ravenna stood, barely breathing, as Morgana held out her arms, breathing in the cold air. Voldemort was standing, taking in his new body. "Wormtail," he hissed quietly. The little Animagus bowed and scraped as he handed a long wand to it's owner. "Your arm, Wormtail."

"Thank you, my lor–"

"The other arm."

Pettigrew looked shocked for a moment before whimpering slightly and holding out his left arm. Voldemort grabbed it and held it forearm upwards.

"What are you doing?"

The clear, sharp voice of Morgana Pendragon rang around the cemetery. Regdna looked shocked, and slightly frightened. The sorceress glared. "We had an agreement. _This was not part of it._"

Voldemort looked angry, and then he carefully positioned his face to an emotionless mask. "My lady Morgana, our agreement was—"

"That I would help you eradicate those who would threaten magic-users and magical creatures. Also, that we would make our arrangements _alone. _If you are about to do what I believe you are about to do, then our alliance will be over before it has even begun." Morgana glared viciously for effect.

Ravenna's eyes widened. _He lied! He's using you! _

Morgana whipped her head around. "Who said that?"

"Who said what?" said Voldemort.

The sorceress sneered at him. "I did not speak to _you, _snake."

Ravenna closed her eyes, concentrating fiercely. _He wants to take over the world and make it so only those descended from a long line of magic-users may do the same. Anyone who isn't is considered worthless in his eyes. If he found out about your parents—_

_Stop! Who are you? _Morgana's mental voice was just as strong as her real one. _And why are you saying these things? How do I know I can trust you?_

_Because I am a Druid. I am also a Drake. I have been called many things; among them the Angel of Andlunn, the Royal Raven, and the Shadow. _

_Ravenna._

_Yes._

Morgana drew herself up to her full height. Addressing Voldemort, she said, "I believe you have no idea exactly who you hold in chains. And as such, you have no idea yet of the wrath of those descended from Uther Pendragon!"

Turning to the open scroll, she raised her hand and, eyes flashing molten gold, began to chant; "Rïsa ēalł draæsch Grÿdsien malkchæck! Zchäch sven œłen rïsa!"

Regdna let out a strangled yelp. "NO! Do you realize _what you've done_?!"

Morgana turned to him, looking alike to a goddess as she said, "I know _exactly _what I've done. Do you?" She turned away, towards where Ravenna stood bound to the angel. "Rechåch," she said, and the black Mordgal chains fell away.

Ravenna stepped lightly to the ground, nodding to Morgana, who returned the gesture. Ravenna ran over to where Cedric was secured to a cross and hurriedly released him, ducking under a bolt of green light shot from Regdna's wand. Once Ravenna had freed him, she pushed Cedric into the maze of headstones, saying, "Find the cup and stay alert."

She was about to run to where Harry was secured, but before she could, there was a cry of "_Imperio!_"

The cryer was Voldemort.

And his target was Morgana.

The woman fell to her knees, gasping and holding her head in her hands. Ravenna could see a mental battle of will, and knew she couldn't help. She turned towards Harry. Holding her palm to the statue, her eyes flashed gold and it released it's prisoner. Harry fell to the ground, cradling his right arm, which had a deep, nasty-looking cut. Ravenna helped him up and sent him in the direction Cedric had gone.

Ravenna looked at Morgana, wondering who was winning the battle. It wasn't looking too good. Morgana was still on her knees, arms shaking as they held her head. Abruptly, she stopped shaking and looked up. Her gray eyes held no emotion as she came to her feet. A muscle twitched, a sign that she still fought. The sorceress raised her hand, her eyes flashed gold, and Ravenna was thrown against another tall headstone.

Suddenly, the mist pouring from the open scroll thickened and heightened, forming the shape of a man. As the thick vapor rolled off of the figure's shoulders, revealing a young beautiful face, Ravenna let out something between a strangled sob and a cry of pain.

It was her childhood friend, the one she had left behind but never forgotten.

Mordred.

* * *

**This chapter is horrible. Ah well, least I got Dred in there, finally ;)** **Stay tuned.**

**PLEASE REVIEW, DANGIT!**

**Fate**


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four

**Hey! Hello! Hi! Greetings! Good Day/Night/Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Whatever!  
**

**Okay, I'll stop.**

_**You and I walk a fragile line**_

**_I have known it all this time_**

**_but I never thought I'd live to see it break_**

**_It's getting dark and it's all too quiet_**

**_And I can't trust anything now_**

**_And it's coming over you like it's all a big mistake_**

**Taylor Swift**

* * *

"Harry! Over here!"

Harry's gaze snapped around to where Cedric crouched by the Triwizard Cup, gesturing to him frantically. Cedric frowned as Harry ran toward him. "Where's Ravenna?"

"Back in the clearing. I don't know what's happened, but…"

Cedric stood. "We should at least bring her back with us," he said.

"Um… I don't know if that's a very good idea…" Harry trailed off as Cedric marched determinedly back, ever the loyal Hufflepuff. Harry chased after him.

The scene they came to wasn't pretty. The woman in the white dress, who had been formed from the mist, stood rigid, palm outstretched towards Ravenna, holding her against a tall headstone. Voldemort stood in the center of the clearing, wand pointed at the woman in white. The Drake's full attention was now completely focused on another stranger, a man in a white shirt with billowing sleeves—cuffed at the wrists—dark trousers and knee-high boots. He had curly black hair, a fair, young face and brilliantly bright blue eyes.

The man shook his head slightly, as if to shake hair out of his eyes. He looked around, confused. When his eyes alighted on the lady, his eyes widened. "Morgana…?" he asked tentatively. The woman, Morgana, didn't respond. He frowned, and then noticed Voldemort standing there, completely focused on the woman from the mist. His eyes narrowed in anger. "Who are you?" he asked harshly.

Voldemort suddenly seemed to notice him for the first time, jerking his head around to glare at the stranger. As he did so, Morgana fell, one hand holding herself up while the other clutched at her head. Ravenna, no longer held up by the other woman's magic, slid down the face of the headstone a few feet. Her gaze was still locked on the young man.

Harry grabbed Cedric's arm to keep him from bursting into the clearing and getting himself killed. The Hufflepuff frowned at him, and Harry fiercely mouthed, "_Wait for the right time!_" Reluctantly, the older nodded.

Turning his attention back to the clearing, Harry saw Voldemort straighten, and his scar burned as Harry practically saw visible anger roll off the dark lord in waves. "I," he said, "am Lord Voldemort, and you will not cross me again if you wish to live!"

The man snorted. "Is that so?" he said. "I could stop you with one hand."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed, and his mouth stretched into a vicious grin as he hissed. "That sounded like a challenge, boy. What is your name, so that I know what I will say when I kill you?"

Suddenly, a long, dark shape barreled into the Dark Lord. Flipping over, the black Drake barely paused to land as she tossed Voldemort into his father's gravestone with her head. The man backed up a step, shock written on his face in big, bold letters. Morgana looked surprised, but not ultimately frightened.

Ravenna crouched slightly, growling. Noticing Harry and Cedric, she jerked her nose back in the direction of the Cup, and her voice penetrated his mind.

_We can take care of ourselves. Now go, before I make you!_

Harry grimaced, then nodded and pulled Cedric along behind him back to the Cup.

* * *

Ravenna watched the boys until they disappeared into the fog, before turning back to the scene before her. Regdna had somehow vanished, as had Wormtail. Morgana had gotten to her feet and looked like she was trying to come up with some sort of apology. And Mordred… stared. At her. With shock, surprise, and a touch of wonder. Ravenna ducked her head in his direction, wondering what he was thinking.

Suddenly, a heavy and familiar weight slammed into her from behind. The black Mordgal chains pinned her to the ground, and she could feel her magic being soaked into the dark metal. Lengths of heavy chain rammed into Mordred and Morgana and wound around their chests, rendering all of them as helpless as lame deer. Voldemort picked himself up, rolling his shoulders and head. "So," he said, bending down to get right up in Mordred's face. "Would you care to tell me your name? Or shall I get it out of your… _friends, _here?"

Curling his upper lip in disgust, Mordred glared up at the dark lord. "My name is not of much importance, is it? Especially when I can do _this!_"

His eyes flashed gold, and everything around him exploded away from him—the Mordgal chains, Voldemort, even some of the dirt and grass. The chains were lifted off of Ravenna and Morgana as well.

Mordred stood tall, eyes back to their normal blue. "For your information, _snake, _my name is Mordred, son of Caein, friend of a Drake and a girl who would turn into a beast at night. I am a Druid, a practitioner of the Old Religion, and a Knight of Camelot. You are the one who made the mistake to cross me.

"I was also the slayer of my own king, a commander within an army of Saxons, and a traitor to my kingdom. It is these things that I am not proud of, no matter what bounty they brought after. It is people like you who would seek to do all that they could to do what I did if they no longer appreciated the ruler of their lands. It is people like you that I despise."

Voldemort glared from his position in front of his father's headstone. "So. Mordred, slayer of King Arthur? Well well," he said, a glint of malice within his red snake's eyes. "Friend of a Drake? Well. I don't suppose this Drake's name was _Ravenna, _was it?"

Ravenna, who had morphed back into human form when Mordred started talking, snapped her head up, barely containing her hope. _Did he truly remember her?_ Mordred looked slightly disgruntled before saying, "What difference does her name make?"

"The _difference _is that she will die if you take one wrong move against us!" Regdna's voice called out. Fast as lightning, another length of chain, this one of refined Mordgal, was thrown over her head and secured around her shoulders. A black knife was held to her throat.

Refined Mordgal was much more powerful than normal Mordgal. It sapped away Ravenna's magic and strength so quickly, she couldn't stop herself from giving a slight cry of pain as she slumped against the black metal. Mordred's eyes widened, and then narrowed to angry slits. Morgana, standing to one side, flicked her gaze between Ravenna, Mordred and Voldemort.

All at once, a new, yet familiar voice broke into the conversation: "Let my friend go, or I will make you wish you were dead."

* * *

**Good grief! I don't like this chapter.**

**I can remember Will saying that all the time and Alyss telling him to stop saying it or she'd break his calf :) I miss Alyss (The Ranger's Apprentice) WHY FLANAGAN?! WHYYYY?! WHY DID SHE HAVE TO GO?! D...X**

**Ahem. Mhhm.**

**Please review! PLEASE! I feel lonely when I don't get reviews :(**

**Fate**


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